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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26313019">Coby/Helmeppo Oneshots</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLightningPack/pseuds/ShadowoftheLightningPack'>ShadowoftheLightningPack</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Coby/Helmeppo (oneshots) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Fluff and Smut, Drama &amp; Romance, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Randomness, The Author Regrets Nothing, author has no idea what they're doing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:53:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>49,654</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26313019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLightningPack/pseuds/ShadowoftheLightningPack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a collection of random oneshots for the Coby/Helmeppo ship, because I seriously love these two, and neither of them get enough love.</p><p>Each oneshot will vary in levels of drama and romance and whatever. They are not connected, each oneshot is a story on its own. If people have ideas for oneshot scenarios I could write, feel free to let me know! Requests of any kind are always welcome and all (no crossovers though) will be written.<br/></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Coby/Helmeppo (One Piece)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Coby/Helmeppo (oneshots) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911886</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>81</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Lost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Reading and reviewing is always appreciated, thanks for reading, anyone who takes the time to go through this. Didn’t take long to write, but I’m proud of it anyway.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The wind howled around the mountain, an almost DEAFENING wind. The young man hugged his own body, shivering. The battle had ended. Too many injured, FAR too many dead. Captain Coby had ordered the injured to be tended to on the waiting ship, and the dead to be gathered for transportation back for a proper burial. He stared down at the ground below his feet. This shouldn’t have happened. Not by a longshot. They had achieved what they’d set out to do initially...and then some. The young man straightened himself and turned in a slow circle, dark gaze scanning for sight of his blond haired friend, with no luck in catching sight of him. They’d been separated on the field, and it had been a while since Coby had seen him.</p><p><br/>
"Sir! All the injured have been loaded to the ship. Should we start hauling the dead?" Asked an officer, saluting as he approached.</p><p>Coby waved his hand dismissively.<br/>
"Go." He paused. "Among the injured...was the Lieutenant Commander there?"</p><p>"No sir. Or if he was injured, he has yet to be found. He’s been missing for some time."</p><p>"Thank you, officer. Continue with the work." Coby squinted against the stinging wind. "<em><strong>HELMEPPO</strong></em>!"</p><p><br/>
He hoped desperately to hear the blond's voice calling to him, but all he could hear was the wind. There was no sign of his friend. Pity. It would certainly make the search harder, but, he was sure, not completely impossible. So he wandered slowly, a few steps in all directions, and finally he caught sight of the blond, who certainly should have been with the wounded, he realized. </p><p>When his eyes fell on Helmeppo, Coby's eyes widened in horror, and he rushed forward, nearly tripping over himself on the uneven dirt and snow ground in his haste to get to his friend, and he dropped to his knees, heedless of the snow and the hard ground under him. He looked his friend up and down, shook him by the shoulders with no response. He was bleeding. He was bleeding BADLY. The snow around him was stained red. Coby stared at the wounds, eyes widening in horror. He reached forward and placed his fingers lightly against the side of the wound. His heart pounded in his chest at the sight of the torn skin. From the looks of the injuries, it had happened some time ago, possibly the work of a sword, slashed straight down the chest all the way to the stomach, and it was deep. Coby placed his hand over Helmeppo's heart, away from the wound, and found, much to his relief, his friend's heart still beat. It was faint though, and growing fainter with every passing second. Coby lifted his head and called for help, but his voice was lost in the wind. If he could wake him, could they make it to the ship? No matter how much he shook Helmeppo or shouted his name, he did not stir. <em>I'm sorry...</em> Coby winced as he firmly pressed his hand against the wound, knowing full well it would burn and sting, and he noticed his friend's shoulders tense up. At least he was alive and had a semblance of consciousness. He wasn’t comatose. Coby called for help again, as loud as he could. Finally, Helmeppo's eyes opened. Coby's hand was covered in his friend's blood, making the young Captain shudder.</p><p><br/>
"Captain Coby...?" Helmeppo's voice was weak. "What are...What are you doing?"</p><p>Coby fought back a sob of relief and withdrew his hand.<br/>
"Helmeppo! God...you’re alive...thank god!" Tears filled his eyes. "Stay with me..."</p><p>Helmeppo coughed up blood.<br/>
"What...What happened?" He asked.</p><p>"I was about to ask you the same thing. I'm guessing...sword wound. Pretty deep. We need to get you to the ship right away for treatment."</p><p>"I can’t stand up, Captain. Much less go down a mountainside to the ship..."</p><p>"No no no! You can make it. I’ll carry you if I have to, dammit!"</p><p>Helmeppo smiled faintly.<br/>
"You’re strong, Captain, but I doubt you could carry my weight down a mountain on your own."</p><p>Coby stared down at his bloodied hand.<br/>
"What do you expect me to do, then?"</p><p>"Leave me and get back to the ship. You...You have wounded officers to tend to," said Helmeppo.</p><p>"NO!" Coby screamed against the howling wind. "I won’t abandon you. I WON'T!"</p><p>"I’m not...I'm not going to make it. I’ve...lost too much blood."</p><p>"You’ll be okay, I’ll help you! You don’t know you’re done yet, not until the medics check things out, right?"</p><p>"Please...just go. This...will be my final resting place, but I don’t want to die knowing you stayed and got left behind."</p><p>The tears rolled down Coby's cheeks, hitting the earth below him.<br/>
"You’ll live...if you just work with me, you’ll live!" He turned his gaze toward the ship again. "<em><strong>SOMEONE HELP! <span class="u">ANYONE</span>!</strong></em>"</p><p>"Coby."</p><p>Coby turned back to Helmeppo, who was reaching out to him weakly. Coby clasped his hand tightly.<br/>
"I’m right here. Stay with me. Someone will notice we're missing and will come. They know <em>I'M</em> alive."</p><p>Helmeppo gently pulled Coby's hand to his chest to rest over his weakly beating heart.<br/>
"There was once a time...when I would’ve begged you to stay, to help me, but I can’t. I can’t have you risking yourself."</p><p>"Why not? That’s what we do. We're allies, you’re my best friend. Why won’t you let me stay?" He asked, voice wavering.</p><p>Helmeppo closed his eyes.<br/>
"Because...love means wishing the best, hoping for the best for someone."</p><p>Coby was chilled to the bone, but his hand was warm in the blond's.<br/>
"You...love me?" He asked, voice weak.</p><p>Helmeppo nodded with difficulty.<br/>
"I have for a long time. Now go."</p><p>"I’m so sorry...I should’ve protected you. I should’ve...I should’ve done something. I should’ve-"</p><p>"Shut up, you idiot. There’s...There's no point in thinking about what SHOULD'VE been done. Go."</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Captain Coby!" Called an officer.</p><p>Coby turned, daring to smile.<br/>
"Officer Johnson! Is there a medic? Lieutenant Commander Helmeppo is severely injured!"</p><p>Johnson stopped short.<br/>
"How bad is it, sir? The medics are a good distance away and all occupied."</p><p>"Critical condition. Deep wound from a blade, serious blood loss. I found him unconscious, and his pulse is incredibly weak."</p><p>The officer's brow furrowed.<br/>
"I’ll send for someone to come up here at once, but you need to come back. Vice-Admiral Garp has called an emergency meeting."</p><p>"I’ll get a briefing on it later. I won’t abandon Helmeppo."</p><p>"But sir, the Vice-Admiral was VERY insistent that-"</p><p>"You have my orders!" Coby snapped. "Send a medic at once!"</p><p>"Sir! Yes sir!" Johnson hurried away.</p><p>"You...should’ve gone." Helmeppo rolled onto his side, wincing.</p><p>"I know, but should’ve and willingness are two different things."</p><p>"Coby...listen to me." Helmeppo gently squeezed his hand, his own shaking. "You had a dream. Don’t throw that away sitting here with a goner. If you sit here, they might cast off without you. I know I mocked you and scolded you for it, but I <em>want</em> you to achieve your dream."</p><p>"I know, but you have a dream too." Coby lay down next to him, heedless of the snow and hard earth under him. "You need to achieve yours too."</p><p>Helmeppo shifted closer.<br/>
"I know, but I can’t. I want you to though." He lay his forehead against Coby's. "I love you, Coby. You’ll...You'll do great things. I know it."</p><p>Coby closed his eyes and sobbed.<br/>
"I’m sorry...I’m so sorry, Helmeppo! I..."</p><p><br/>
He tightened his grip on Helmeppo's hand. When he opened his dark blue eyes again, Helmeppo's had closed, and just as the medic appeared on the crest of the hill, Helmeppo's breath caught. He exhaled, murmuring a final apology, then lay still, his hand going limp in Coby's. Coby's eyes widened. He shook his head, then lay his head against Helmeppo's chest to listen desperately for a heartbeat. This time, he found none. He wrapped his arms around his fallen friend and did not try to hide his tears. He felt as if his blood had turned to ice, the life draining out of him with the passing of a friend he had failed to save.</p><p><br/>
"Helmeppo! No no no...I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!" He sobbed, tightly gripping the other man, but there was nothing the medic could do.<br/>
____________</p><p><br/>
"I'm sorry!"</p><p>Helmeppo walked over at the weak, yet heartbroken cries of his friend.<br/>
"Coby. Hey, Coby, wake up."</p><p><br/>
Coby's eyes snapped open. He gasped sharply, his chest heaving, eyes wide, breath shaking. He looked up to see the familiar face of his friend. <em>A dream. Just a dream</em>. He pulled himself into a sitting position and grabbed Helmeppo's hand, insistently tugging his friend down to sit next to him, and immediately curling up against him. He slid his hand under the blond's shirt, relaxing as he felt smooth skin. No wound, no stitches, no scar. Just warm, smooth skin. Next to him, Helmeppo chuckled.</p><p><br/>
"Trying to come on to me all of a sudden, eh?" He joked. "Makes me wonder. What kind of dream were you having anyway?"</p><p>"Huh?!" Coby's eyes widened. He drew his hand back. "Sorry! I...that’s not it at all! I just...I dreamed we were on the field. You... had this huge wound on your chest and...you died, Helmeppo. You <em>DIED</em>!" He buried his head against the blond's chest, shoulders shaking as he fought back a sob.</p><p>Helmeppo wrapped his arms tightly around the younger marine.<br/>
"I’m okay, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere." He lay his head on top of Coby's, smirking. "Though if you <em>WERE</em> trying to initiate something, I wouldn’t have stopped you."</p><p>Coby was glad his face was hidden, for he felt the blush that appeared on his face.<br/>
"Oh shut up..."</p><p>"Love you, Cobes."</p><p>"Love you too."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Unexpected</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Coby has just been promoted, Helmeppo is jealous, but has more than promotions on his mind.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I don’t own One Piece</p><p>Author's Note: This one is gonna be basically fluff, brief suggestive moment at the end, nothing described. You have been warned.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Helmeppo! Look!" Coby caught up with his friend outside and proudly held up his new badge, that of a Captain. "I got promoted!"</p><p>"Again?" Helmeppo huffed, blowing blond hair out of his face. "No fair."</p><p>"I'm just that good." Coby grinned. His eyes were bright, his face lit up.</p><p>Helmeppo reached over and ruffled his friend's hair.<br/>"Well congrats, Captain Coby." He saluted the newly appointed Captain.</p><p>Coby blushed and waved his arms up and down.<br/>"No no no! No saluting me, dammit!" He insisted.</p><p>"But you’re my superior officer."</p><p>"I...um...at ease!?"</p><p>Helmeppo grinned and dropped his arm.<br/>"If you’re gonna be a Captain, then learn. To. Deal. With. Formal. Behaviour." He tapped Coby's forehead with each word.</p><p>Coby brushed him off, frowning.<br/>"Yeah yeah, I know. You’re different though. You were my friend before I was your superior."</p><p>"You’ve always been one step ahead of me."</p><p>"Yeah, but we were always just casual except on the field, and we <em>used</em> to be in the same rank."</p><p>"Yeah. When we were chore-boys!"</p><p>"I rest my case!"</p><p>"So do I."</p><p><br/>Coby waved it off. How could things get any better at this point? He was a marine. A <em>CAPTAIN</em>, no less! He still wasn’t one of the highest ranks, but it had been less than two years to go from chore-boy to Captain, so he was sure he would make Admiral one day. In the meantime, he was a Captain, he had a best friend, a home, a good enough life. What more could he ask for?</p><p>Well, he could think of <em>ONE</em> thing, but that was just a dream, and not the kind of dream he could guarantee he could achieve through hard work. However, sometimes it was nice to dream. He was aware of Helmeppo's gaze as the blond stared at him. He fidgeted under that stare, gaze darting to Helmeppo, then away. For his part, Helmeppo couldn’t help but stare. One, Coby had just been promoted, which was something big in itself. Captain was worthy of awe. That aside, he had for a long time admired Coby, both for his personality, and for his near flawless appearance. Pink hair framing his face, with mostly soft features, save for a strong jaw, the only thing ruining an otherwise mostly androgynous face. Dark blue eyes that lit up when his heart was light. He had a slender frame, pale skin, and defined, yet not excessive muscle. He was well built, in a way that was neither handsome nor simply cute, but just...beautiful. Or perhaps that was just Helmeppo's personal opinion...not that he was planning to say anything. Helmeppo had long known he had feelings for his friend, and had even planned to tell him. Now that Coby had been promoted to his superior by <em>far</em>, to do so strangely just...didn’t feel right anymore.</p><p><br/>"What're you thinking, Helmeppo?" Coby asked, breaking into his thoughts.</p><p>"Nothing important," Helmeppo quickly said, waving it off.</p><p>"You tensed up all of a sudden." Coby frowned.</p><p>"Did not! Why would it even matter?" The blond demanded.</p><p>Coby stepped forward and reached forward to gently rub his friend's shoulders, easing out the tension.<br/>"Oh my god you’re tense." He looked up at the other. "What’s bothering you?"</p><p>Helmeppo scowled. He couldn’t hide from Coby and they both knew it.<br/>"Nothing is <em>BOTHERING</em> me. Just realizing- not for the first time- an observation."</p><p>Coby raised a thin eyebrow.<br/>"And are you going to tell me what it is?" He asked, letting his hands trail off his friend's shoulders.</p><p>Helmeppo took Coby's hand and pulled it forward to rest against his chest.<br/>"It’s...kind of an odd thought."</p><p>Coby looked at his hand, laying on Helmeppo's chest, over his heart, beating a million miles a minute.<br/>"Your heart is racing! Are you okay?"</p><p>"I’m perfectly fine. Just...I hate looking at you."</p><p>Hurt crossed Coby's face.<br/>"Why? Am I really <em>that</em> ugly?"</p><p>"No, you’re too...too damn beautiful. It’s not fair. Nobody should be allowed to be that beautiful."</p><p>"Huh?! But..." Coby trailed off. He knew he couldn’t exactly be considered conventionally handsome, but he hadn’t expected <em>that</em>. "Th-Thanks, I guess? Um...really though, I’m not..."</p><p>"What, denying your own attractiveness?" Helmeppo demanded.</p><p>Coby's face turned bright red.<br/>"I...um...yes, that’s exactly it." He fidgeted.</p><p>Helmeppo reached forward and brushed his hand against Coby's cheek, tracing his thumb over the other's strong jaw.<br/>"Coby."</p><p>Coby forced himself to look up at the blond.<br/>"Helmeppo? What in the world are you doing?"</p><p>"I like you."</p><p>"I like you too."</p><p>"No, I mean..."</p><p>It took him a moment. Coby's eyes widened.<br/>"Oh...<em><strong>OH</strong></em>! I...um..." His breath caught. He became aware of his own heart racing.</p><p>"Now that it’s out there...now what?"</p><p>"I have no idea. I don’t even know what to think. Just...hearing that, it doesn’t feel real."</p><p>"Can I do something weird?"</p><p>"Go ahead. Everything seems weird right now."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo slipped his hand behind Coby's neck and pulled him closer, closing the distance between them. Coby froze for a moment, then he threw his weight forward, leaning into the kiss and winding his arms around the blond's neck, pulling himself closer until there was no distance at all between them, bodies pressed together, the both of them savouring the sweet kiss.</p><p>Helmeppo slid his hand down to rest on Coby's waist. He pulled back from the kiss, watching as a bright smile appeared on Coby's face and his dark eyes lit up. Coby was still for a long moment, then he pressed himself firmly against the other young man and lowered his head, pressing his lips against the blond's neck, gently nipping the sensitive skin. Helmeppo's grip on Coby tightened, one arm around his waist, his other hand sliding up to slip under the other's shirt. He could feel the curve of Coby's smile against his skin as he moved his hand from his waist to slide to the hem of his pants, gently tugging. Coby pulled back, his gaze drifting down to the other man's hand on his hip. The small smile remained as the shorter boy reached forward to tug lightly at Helmeppo's collar. However, as Coby felt the slight rubbing of his pants slowly being lowered, he just pulled back and shook his head. They were outside. They were in public. Indecent. He gently kissed the blond's cheek.</p><p><br/>"Not here, Helmeppo."</p><p>"Sorry."</p><p>"Nothing to apologize for."</p><p>Helmeppo raised his hand again to rest on Coby's waist.<br/>"Well do you want to just stay here, or should we...?"</p><p>"Go somewhere more private?" Coby finished, raising an eyebrow. "I’d be fine with that." He reached forward to take Helmeppo's hand in his.</p><p>"Then let's get out of here." Helmeppo kissed Coby's forehead. "Idiot."</p><p>"Love you too."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Attachment Issues</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby won’t admit he has attachment issues, and Helmeppo INSISTS on proving him wrong.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The warm afternoon would have been peaceful for once if not for Coby, as per usual. Helmeppo was glad to just lay and read his book, but Coby was Coby, and Helmeppo should’ve known better than anyone by that point, Coby required <em>constant</em> attention.</p><p><br/>"Helmeppo!" Coby flopped down next to his friend, laying down on his stomach and resting his head over the blond's chest, very much getting in the way of his reading.</p><p>"Coby, get off," Helmeppo muttered. So saying, he swept an arm out to push the shorter boy off him.</p><p>Coby pouted.<br/>"You’ve been hiding in here all day and I don’t even get to say hi now that I’m off training?" He whined.</p><p>"Fine. Hi. Now leave me alone."</p><p>Coby sat up and crossed his arms.<br/>"That’s no way to treat a friend!"</p><p>Helmeppo slammed his book down.<br/>"Coby, you’re my best damn friend, but you drive me insane. I can’t get a moment of peace around here with you prattling on all the time!"</p><p>Coby's gaze shifted to his friend.<br/>"Am I really <em>that</em> much of an annoyance?"</p><p>"<strong><em>YES!</em></strong>" Helmeppo exclaimed. "Not to mention your stupid attachment issues. That’s probably the root of all this."</p><p>"Attachment issues?" Coby frowned.</p><p>"Yes. I agreed to be your friend one day and you haven’t given me a moment to myself since then."</p><p>"That’s not true..."</p><p>"I’ll prove you have attachment issues."</p><p>"I do not have <em>attachment issues</em>, Helmeppo!"</p><p>"Yes you do."</p><p>"No I don’t!"</p><p>"Are you sure?"</p><p>"Of course I’m sure!"</p><p>"Well, I don’t believe you." Helmeppo stood up, tossing his book on the nightstand. "I'm going to take a walk, you just sit here and think, okay? Use what few brain cells you have to ponder that."</p><p>"Fine, I <em>will</em>, and I’ll <em>still</em> be right!" </p><p>"Okay...back soon!" Helmeppo ruffled Coby's hair, then stepped outside.</p><p><br/>Coby sat there in silence for a moment, thinking it over like his life depended on it, but it didn’t last long. He sat there and thought. Or rather, he was <em>trying</em> to, but he couldn’t. The dimly lit little room felt lonely without its other occupant. So Coby scrambled to his feet and hurried after his friend, down the stairs, through the hall, where Helmeppo was walking slowly. He heard the hurried footsteps behind him and smirked to himself, but didn’t look back. He had expected as much. He was fully prepared for the impact as Coby tackled him from behind, then turned and buried his face against his chest, hugging him tightly. <em>He is... My <strong>only</strong> real friend...</em> Helmeppo grinned to himself and wrapped his arms tightly around the younger Marine. </p><p><br/>"Told you."</p><p>Coby didn’t look up.<br/>"I don’t have attachment issues," he mumbled.</p><p>"Then why are you out here?" Helmeppo challenged.</p><p>"It feels lonely without you there."</p><p>"Attachment issues."</p><p>"Shut <em><strong>up.</strong></em>"</p><p>"Why should I?"</p><p>"Because...Because...um..."</p><p>"Because I’m right and you’re wrong?"</p><p>"Yes..." Coby agreed, backing up, shoulders raised like he was trying to shrink. He offered a sheepish smile.</p><p>Helmeppo grabbed Coby's hands and pulled the boy back towards him.<br/>"No running away, that’s rude."</p><p>"First you want me to leave you alone, then you want me to stay? Make up your mind!"</p><p>Helmeppo chuckled to himself, brushing Coby's hair back behind his ears.<br/>"Calm down."</p><p>"I don’t have attachment issues."</p><p>"Yes you do. That’s not a bad thing."</p><p>"...shut up."</p><p>Helmeppo reached forward and took his friend's hand.<br/>"On second thought, <em>maaaybe</em> I don’t mind the-"</p><p>"<b><em>IF YOU SAY ATTACHMENT ISSUES ONE MORE TIME I'M GONNA LOSE IT</em></b>!"</p><p>In response to this, Helmeppo only grinned and gently squeezed Coby's hand as they headed back.<br/>"I’m not the one who said it this time."</p><p>Coby pouted. "<em>This</em> time."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Stargazing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby wants to go watch the stars, Helmeppo wants to watch Coby, and somehow they ended up in a field.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a little thing I did last night. It hasn’t been edited, but I’m happy with it how it is! ^_^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"The stars are out!" Coby chirped, staring out the window with wide eyes and a bright smile.<br/>"Whoopee. A bunch of giant balls of gas are sitting around doing nothing," Helmeppo muttered. "Go to sleep, Coby."<br/>Coby clambered down from the windowsill. "What’s the matter? You’ve been like this all day. You don’t need to be such a downer!"<br/>"Yes I do."<br/>"<em>Why</em>?"<br/>Helmeppo shrugged. "Because then at least one of us doesn’t have his head in the clouds."<br/>Coby scowled. "Oh hey now-"<br/>Helmeppo sat up. "If you try to tell me I’m wrong, we both know that’s not true."</p><p>Coby stared down at his glasses, sitting on the nightstand, and sat down on his bed. "Yeah yeah...I guess that’s true. Is it really so <em>bad</em> to be a dreamer sometimes? Or to appreciate the little things in life?"</p><p>"Like giant balls of gas?"<br/>Coby sighed in exasperation. "They’re called stars, Helmeppo, and <em>yes</em>."<br/>"Go think about stars by yourself and leave me alone."<br/>"Something's bothering you."<br/>"What makes you think <em>that</em>?"<br/>"You’re grumpier than normal. I didn’t think that was possible."<br/>"<strong><em>OH HEY WAIT A SEC</em></strong>-"<br/>Coby grinned impishly. "Am I right, or what?"<br/>"You little shit..."<br/>"Point proven."<br/>"Coby..."</p><p>"Come on! It’s the beginning of fall and it’s always so cloudy and it’ll start to get at night soon...but the stars are out, and it’ll be one of the last more or less warm nights. I’m gonna go watch the stars and try to find constellations. It’ll be therapeutic. Wanna come with? Pleeeeeease?"</p><p>"Is this one of the times I either say yes or get dragged out anyway?"<br/>"Yep!"<br/>"You’re like...5'6 and built like a twig, yet somehow, I always do your bidding. You little shit. Emphasis on <em>little</em>, by the way."<br/>"Duly noted."<br/>"Coby, how long do you plan to stay out? Like...are we coming back, or do we need to get sweaters and sleep in a field?"<br/>"I can’t speak for you. <em>I'm</em> gonna stare at stars until I fall asleep in a field."<br/>"Then I’m staying with you."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo stood up and grabbed Coby's jacket with a sigh and a shake of his head, tossing it to him before grabbing his own and clipping his long hair back, brushing it out of his face. Coby grabbed his glasses and slid his jacket on, settling comfortably into the warmth and feeling of the familiar, smooth white fabric, then grabbing his friend's hand and happily heading for the door.</p><p>It was peaceful outside, without anyone shouting, or wheezing from strenuous training. The two settled down right in the middle of the field that was enclosed by the running track, and Coby lay on his back, enjoying the feeling of the cool grass against his ankles and neck. Helmeppo settled not far from him, but spent more time watching Coby than the stars. Coby was more interesting. He also moved more, though at the moment, <em>not</em> by much. The starlight made his dark blue eyes shine brighter than usual, and a small, relaxed smile was painted on his lips. For the first time in a while, he looked to be at peace for a brief moment in time. Coby on his part had already managed to point out three constellations, pointing them out happily, even though more than anything else, it just sounded like he was rambling. Who was Orion? What did his belt have to do with anything? What was this about a dipper? Why were there two of them? Helmeppo opted not to give himself a headache thinking about it. He was more than happy to just see the way Coby's whole face lit up. Coby scanned the night sky, but could find no more constellations. That was okay. He was happy to just watch the sparkling, silvery stars in the night sky. It must’ve been midnight, it was so dark. The slight fall chill was on the breeze that made the green grass around them rustle, making a pleasant whistling sound. Coby zipped up his coat, but it did little whenever the wind swept over them.</p><p><br/>"Cold?" Helmeppo asked, shifting a bit closer.<br/>"Shhh...the stars won't be out forever." Coby pointed up at them.<br/>"They're not going to say anything, Coby."<br/>"I know, but it’s more peaceful this way."</p><p><br/>Despite the desire for no distractions, slowly but surely, the two began to unconsciously inch closer together. It was cold, and yet it was a peaceful and relaxing night. However, Coby could finally begin to realize he was growing tired, his eyelids drooping every now and then, his arms limp and heavy whenever he wanted to point out a particularly bright star or a distant planet. His breath had slowed as if he was only half-conscious. He was certainly slow to respond to things. He was even slow to respond to a touch as his companion's hand brushed over his and their palms rested together, a light touch. Coby's gaze slowly shifted over toward his friend, but he dared not move. The touch was warm, and it felt nice. Whether or not Helmeppo was aware, Coby couldn’t tell, for the blond wasn’t looking at him anymore. He had turned to finally stare up at the sky and was laying still, breathing slowly. In. Out. In. Out. Coby slid his fingers between his friend's own, but there was no reaction.</p><p><br/>"Helmeppo? You still awake?"<br/>Helmeppo's gaze shifted to Coby. "Yeah. Are <em>you</em>? You looked like you were drifting off a couple times."<br/>"I’m awake. Kind of, anyway."<br/>"Kind of?"<br/>Coby blushed, looking down at their hands. "Kind of. Your touch woke me up."<br/>"Oh <strong><em>did</em></strong> it?"<br/>"Was that intentional? You weren’t looking at me for once, so I couldn’t tell..."<br/>"Whaddya mean <em>for once???</em>"</p><p>"I’m not blind, y'know. I’ve noticed the stares. Maybe that’s why I wanted you to come with me. I knew you’d watch me more than... giant balls of gas of gas." Coby grinned. Then the grin faded to a soft smile. "Maybe I wanted to watch the stars and not be alone, and I knew you would watch me instead, so I wouldn’t <em>feel</em> alone either."</p><p>"You’re never alone. I’ll bug you as long as I can."<br/>"You’re not bugging me."<br/>"Even with the hand-holding?"<br/>Coby's gaze shifted down to their hands, fingers interlocked. "It’s kinda nice, actually." He shifted closer to his friend to press lightly against his side, moving their arms to rest in what little space they had between them. "And warm."<br/>"Cold much?"<br/>"Maybe a little."<br/>"Get over here."</p><p><br/>Coby scooted over without question and was immediately taken into his friend's arms, where he gladly nestled his head against Helmeppo's chest, that soft smile growing just the slightest bit. His heart skipped a beat, and he didn’t miss it, but said nothing, content for the moment to just lay there, on the cool green grass, safe and warm, and enjoy that blissful, brief moment.</p><p><br/>"Coby, your eyes."<br/>Coby blinked. "What about them?"</p><p>Helmeppo's arms tightened around him. "The beauty of all the stars in the sky pale in comparison."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Food Truck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>AU in which Coby and Helmeppo work at a food truck and Coby is in a REALLY crappy mood.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>10 minute drabble. Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"No no no!" Coby snapped. "I <em>told</em> you, you have to put the ketchup on <em>before</em> the mayonnaise or it gets ruined!"<br/>Helmeppo glared at him. "Don't tell me how to do my job!"<br/>"Then do it right!"<br/>Helmeppo flipped him off. "Why does it even matter? What’re you picking on the little stuff for?"<br/>"Even the little stuff is important!"<br/>"Coby, I love you to the ends of the earth, but you're being a jerk."<br/>"Deal with it."<br/>"I have an idiot for a boyfriend."<br/>"Shut the fuck up."</p><p><br/>Coby was sore and tired from being on his feet all day with no space to stretch in the tiny food truck they worked in, and had no sleep. As such, his mood wasn’t the greatest. He smiled whenever he served a customer, and wished them good days. He tried for a chipper, upbeat tone, but whenever they had those few seconds alone, Coby complained constantly, moaning and griping about his sore back and shoulders and a stiff neck. Finally, when they were released for their break, Coby marched out of the truck and sat outside at one of the picnic benches, head down, muscles tense, acutely aware of his soreness, skin tingling and aching with every movement, even just that of the quick, shallow breaths he allowed himself to steal.</p><p>The rosette did not exactly <em>see</em> the arrival of his companion, but rather, he felt the warm breath tickle his ear when the blond sighed. Coby didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. Helmeppo had known him long enough and had become tuned in enough to his companion to know what was wrong, or to at least get the idea, and was glad it was primarily physical strain rather than emotional. Not that it made it okay. A couple seconds later, Helmeppo had reached over and tentatively set a hand on the small of Coby's back. Coby finally lifted his head, and that movement made his shoulders and nape ache. Immediately he winced, clenching his jaw to hold back a pained hiss.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>Consequences of a bad night and then hours of being on my feet in a tiny space, I guess. My own fault. Weaving around Helmeppo and having to avoid touching hot stuff...<br/></em>
</p><p>He hadn’t been entirely successful either, having obtained a small grease burn on his wrist, which <em><strong>still </strong></em>stung like the devil, no matter how much he iced it or ran it under cold water. He hadn’t had much time to tend to his own needs, with how many customers they’d had, which on one hand was good, more money, which meant higher pay. On the other hand, it also left Coby sore and regretting his exhaustion. For all his snapping and frustrations with Helmeppo in the past couple days, and <em>especially</em> that day, when he felt the blond stand and move around behind him, gently pressing him down with gentle pressure, enough that he could firmly set his hands on Coby's shoulders and use his knuckles to gently begin to ease out the painful kinks and tension, Coby found himself gradually relaxing. Coby took a deep, shaky breath as the tension began to fade away, but he said nothing for a long moment before finally reaching up to lay his hand over his companion's and trying to pull him down on the bench again, causing Helmeppo to chuckle and shake his head, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to the top of the rosette's head.</p><p><br/>"Coby, what’s with you? You’ve been grumpy all day and you’re all stiff."<br/>Coby rolled his shoulders back. "Yes, yes I am. I’m sore...that tiny, cramped little space doesn’t have room to safely stretch out, or much time to sit down, and I didn’t sleep last night, so I’m just...sorry. I’m out of it."<br/>The blond smiled softly, almost invisibly. "I know. You were tossing and turning. What’s the matter? Why didn’t you get me up?"<br/>"Didn’t want to bug you. I’m okay, I’m okay. Just...sore and tired..."<br/>"How long are we off for?"<br/>"Not long. Half an hour, I think. Less now."<br/>"Sleep."<br/>"For less than half an hour?"<br/>"Yes. I’ll get you up when it’s time to get back to work, okay?" Helmeppo sat next to him again and gently pulled Coby's head to rest on his shoulder. "Coby, I love you, and you can do amazing things, but you’re still human. You need to take care of yourself."<br/>"Not <em>right now</em> though! I’m fine, I’m fine!"<br/>"You just admitted you’re grumpy and sore and didn’t sleep."<br/>Coby shot him a halfhearted glare...mainly because he couldn’t come up with a logical argument. "Fine, but <em>no</em> leaving me to sleep through work or I swear-"<br/>Helmeppo kissed his forehead. "Don’t worry. I promise."<br/>____________</p><p><br/>"Maybe I <em>should've</em> left you asleep," Helmeppo commented when they returned to work.</p><p>Coby stumbled around like he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, still groggy, blinking against the harsh sunlight outside. He tried for a smile whenever customers showed up, but kept communication very simple and as short and quick as possible, with customers and Helmeppo alike, given his still-half-asleep voice. Within the hour, another pair of workers would come to relieve them, and they could go home and Coby could sleep for more than half an hour. That time was not <em>quite</em> yet though.</p><p><br/>"Enjoy your day!" Coby chirped, handing the latest customer their sandwich.<br/>"Coby, you’re asleep on your feet," Helmeppo sighed.<br/>"No shit, Sherlock."<br/>"Would you <em>stop</em> grumping around?" Helmeppo grumbled. "Less than an hour left. At least <em>try</em> to be cheerful while we're on-duty. Then you can be a grump when we can get home."<br/>"I’ll only end up grumping at <em>you</em> that way."<br/>"That’s fine, but no being all pouty at work."<br/>"Fiiiiine. It’s not easy..."<br/>"I know. Now come on, new customer."<br/>Coby adjusted his collar and went to the window, smiling. "Hi! What can we get for you?" <em>This is going to be the death of me.</em><br/>_______________</p><p><br/>When they were relieved of duties and finally managed to go home, Coby <em>immediately</em> flopped, face-first, on the bed when they were home, where he lay, heedless of his aches and pains. Then there was softness as Helmeppo chuckled at him, then slipped a pillow under his head and threw a blanket over his smaller frame. He blinked open his eyes and looked up at his partner, who had kissed his cheek, then turned to go. Coby reached over and grabbed his wrist, grip light, and pulled him down next to him silently, where he shifted over to curl up closer to the blond. Helmeppo brushed Coby's short pink hair back, smiling softly and laying down slowly next to the boy, wrapping his arms tightly around Coby and breathing in his warmth.</p><p><br/>"Coby."<br/>Coby opened his eyes. "Yeah?"<br/>"You’re not going to grump at me?"<br/>"What, you <em>want</em> me to? Let me guess, you want the attention?"<br/>"Maybe."<br/>"Here. Attention." Coby reached up and kissed his cheek, hugging him tightly.<br/>"Cute."<br/>"I am not cute."<br/>"Yes you are."<br/>"Shut up."<br/>"I love you."<br/>Coby nestled his head comfortably onto his partner's chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart. "I know. I love you too."</p><p><br/>After that, they lay in silence, arms wrapped around each other, revelling in the presence of their partner. Coby closed his eyes, smiling from the corner of his lip, and Helmeppo was more than happy to lay with him, holding his companion and watching the last traces of tension fade into a peaceful look as Coby drifted off. The blond smiled softly, then kissed Coby's forehead and pulled the blanket over them.</p><p><br/>"Looks like I’m not going anywhere for a while, huh? Dork."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Coby and Helmeppo have both been hiding feelings for each other, and it’s Helmeppo who finally- with considerable encouragement/peer pressure from Coby- confesses.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a super cringy re-write an an even cringier fanfic I wrote in 2015, so hopefully this one turns out okay! ^_^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Coby emerged from the shower-house, a folded beige towel slung around his neck to catch water droplets falling from the ends of his mop of damp, messy pink hair. The door of the room closed behind him with a click and he flopped down onto his bed, pulling his jacket on to block off the cold that came from being exposed to open air after the warmth of the shower. A shiver passed through him, making his skin prickle.</p><p>Coby turned his gaze towards the room's other occupant, who sat on his bed with his head inclined towards the ground ever so slightly, long blond hair falling to cover most of his face, shielding it from Coby's view just enough he couldn’t read Helmeppo's expression. However, the young man no longer carried his excessively confident demeanour, but instead just sat with his shoulders hunched and his head down. Worry flashed through Coby. He finger combed his mop of hair back and zipped up his jacket, then wandered over, sitting down next to his friend. If Helmeppo noticed him, he didn’t acknowledge the rosette's presence. Coby hesitated momentarily, then reached over and set his hand over his friend's paler one. The only sign Helmeppo was aware of this was the slight tilt of his head as he shifted to look down at their hands. Then he raised his head properly to look at Coby, his heart skipping a beat and breath catching at the touch, however gentle, just for a moment. Coby offered a small smile, but he was sure it was weak in his worry. He was right, with the slight crease in his brow, and the way he wouldn’t <em>quite</em> meet his friend's eyes. He drew his hand away and swept a strand of hair away from his face.</p><p><br/>
"Helmeppo? What’s wrong?"<br/>
Helmeppo shrugged, turning his gaze away briefly and awkwardly before forcing himself to look at Coby again. "Nothing's <em>wrong</em>. What makes you think <em>that</em>?"<br/>
"Uh...okay. I don’t mean to offend you. You just seem a bit...subdued."<br/>
"Just thinking."<br/>
Coby, curious as ever, lit up. "Ooooh! Am I allowed to ask what you’re thinking about?"<br/>
"No."<br/>
Coby pouted, looping his arms through his friend's. "Pleaaaaase?"<br/>
"No."<br/>
"Whyyyyy?" Coby complained, sounding every bit like a whiny five year old.<br/>
"Because I don’t want to tell you," Helmeppo muttered.<br/>
"But...why? You can tell me anything! You <em>know</em> that!"<br/>
"That’s <em>exactly</em> why. I can tell you anything, and I’m afraid if I tell you this time... that’ll change."<br/>
"Dork. Of <em>course</em> it won’t! Come on, you can trust me! You’re making me curious." Coby tugged at his companion's arm. "Please?"<br/>
"Fine fine." Helmeppo swept his long hair away from his face, where it tickled his cheek. "I like a person."<br/>
"So? What’s the big deal?" Coby tone shifted to be perhaps just a bit more distant than before.<br/>
"I mean..."<br/>
"So what if you have a crush on someone?"<br/>
Helmeppo scowled at him. "As a grown-up, it’s not called a <em>crush</em>, Coby. That's for middle school."<br/>
"You know what I mean." Coby shrugged. "So? Are you gonna tell me who the lucky girl is, or what? C'mon, give me the news here!"<br/>
"I wouldn’t say <em>lucky</em>."<br/>
"Why not? You’re smart and strong and dedicated, and-"<br/>
"Shut up." Helmeppo's face flushed red.<br/>
"C'mon, don’t make me wonder! Just tell me!"<br/>
"It’s not a girl."<br/>
Coby blinked again him. "Is that why you were afraid to tell me? Afraid that I’d judge for you liking guys?"<br/>
Helmeppo looked off to the side, anywhere but at Coby. "Maybe."</p><p>"Don’t worry so much, man!" Coby held up his hands defensively. "I’m not judging. I have no place in doing so. I mean, me too? Kind of? At the very least I find other guys attractive."</p><p>"You? Have a love life? You’re so focused on your work you can’t see past your own nose."<br/>
"<strong><em>Excuse</em></strong> me!? I’m not <em>that</em> one-track minded..."<br/>
"Okay okay, I’m sorry." Helmeppo ruffled Coby's hair. "Are you going to be mad at me now?"<br/>
"No."<br/>
"Promise?"<br/>
"I’m not <em>that</em> shallow." Coby shrugged, pulling his arm free of his friend's. "Now come on, finish the story! Who is it on your mind?"</p><p><br/>
Helmeppo's gaze shifted back to Coby, looking the boy up and down. Wide eyes sparkling with curiosity. Thin, pale lips curved up into a tentative smile, highlighting his features. The curve of his developing jaw as he tilted his head to look up at the blond. For a long moment, there was silence. Helmeppo's heart pounded against his breast, and he felt as if he couldn’t move, not even to breathe properly, much less speak. The gentle touch of Coby's hand to his own was what snapped him out of it.</p><p><br/>
"I...I can’t say it."<br/>
Coby pouted. "Why not?"<br/>
"I’m bad at articulating things, okay?!?"<br/>
"Take a deep breath and just say it, okay? I won’t judge."</p><p><br/>
Helmeppo laced his fingers with Coby's and found the sparkle in Coby's dark eyes. <em>Beautiful...</em> Coby tilted his head to the side. That was when with his free hand, Helmeppo cupped the back of Coby's head gently and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to the rosette's. Coby's eyes flew wide open and his whole body froze. Then he threw his arms around the blond and leaned into it for the moment it lasted. When Helmeppo pulled away and tried to pull back, Coby grabbed his arms and moved them to wrap around his waist. Helmeppo didn’t argue, gladly pulling Coby against him, facing him, content to look into dark blue eyes, at the smile on Coby's face, no longer tentative, but with unhidden hope and joy.</p><p><br/>
"Are...Are you serious?" Coby breathed.<br/>
"Absolutely serious."<br/>
Coby threw his arms around Helmeppo and buried his face against the taller Marine's shoulder. "Me too."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Sick Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Helmeppo is sick and Coby doesn’t like that.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Helmeppo?"</p><p><br/>Coby stepped into the living room, pausing only to set his glasses on the kitchen table. No need for them, it was so dark. The lights were all off. He flicked the stairwell light on and his gaze fell to the motionless figure of Helmeppo, laying on the couch, long blond hair falling across his face. Coby frowned, brow creasing with concern. He walked over and knelt at the edge of the couch, reaching forward to put his hand over his companion's. Helmeppo's eyes opened and he fixed his gaze on Coby.</p><p><br/>"Hey..." Coby offered a small smile, but Helmeppo could see the worry behind it.<br/>"I’m fine, Coby. Just taking a nap. Didn’t get much sleep last night."<br/>"I don’t believe that and neither do you." Coby fixed him with a doubtful look. "What’s the matter?"<br/>"Nothing!" Helmeppo snapped. "I’m just-" he was cut off by a coughing fit, chest rattling, shoulders shaking.<br/>Alarm shot through Coby. "Oh my god you’re sick! Why didn’t you say something? How long have you been sick?"<br/>"Coby-"<br/>"<em>How long</em>?" Coby took his hand.<br/>"Just a couple days."<br/>"God...how did I not know this? We...We <em>live</em> together. We share the same house, the same space, the same <em>room</em>! How the hell did I not know?"<br/>"I tried not to let it show. I-I didn’t want you to worry. It was selfish since now you could be sick too, and-"<br/>"I don’t care," Coby declared. "If I’m sick, one, I don’t feel like it, two, I’ll deal with that if it comes. You’re the priority. Can you get up? Let’s get you to bed properly, get you covered up and comfortably on a mattress."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo shook his head. He hadn't eaten that day, hadn’t slept the night before, and all attempts at napping during the day- while he could since it was Saturday and he didn’t have to be up early for work- has failed for more than a few minutes at a time. His energy was low in general the last week or so, and with it, his motivation to do <em>anything</em>, including move, was nothing. He was sore and tense, and he coughed or ached whenever he tried to move. Coby didn’t question his lack of ability to move. Instead, he gave his partner's hand a gentle squeeze, stood up, and rushed off to the bedroom, only to return with an armful of blankets and pillows stacked high. Helmeppo was going to ask what he was doing, since while it may <em>seem</em> clear, with Coby, things could range from helpful, to counterproductive, to just plain random. It wouldn’t have surprised Helmeppo in the least if Coby had gotten himself sidetracked and decided to build a pillow fort right then and there.</p><p>Apparently that wasn’t the plan. Instead, Coby quickly set to making things more comfortable, sliding a fluffy pillow under his partner's head and another couple of only slightly firmer pillows between his spine and the back of the old couch, which had cushions of its own, but not very well supported ones or even a half decent structure, the couch was so old, a little gift from Coby's parents. Helmeppo was about to protest, to tell Coby he didn’t have to go through all the effort for his sake, that it was just a cold, <em>maybe</em> a touch of the flu, but he knew Coby wouldn’t take no for an answer, and besides, the weight and warmth of the fuzzy brown and white jacket Coby draped over him, then another, heavier and thicker, felt so soothing and comforting over his shivering frame that Helmeppo dared not argue. Maybe he could finally get some sleep if he was in a more or less comfortable setup and not worried about breathing too hard and getting Coby sick too.</p><p>Soon enough, and not in any way to Helmeppo's surprise, Coby had rushed off once again and returned a few minutes later with a box of tissues and small bowl of steaming, sweet-smelling broth. He lifted the bowl to Helmeppo's lips and insisted he at least take a few sips, in hopes of offering both nutrition and warmth. Then he grabbed another blanket- probably the last one in the house aside from what was on their bed, and Helmeppo wasn’t even sure <em>that</em> was still there, Coby had gradually piled so many blankets on him- and his pillow and settled himself on the floor next to the couch, smiling up at Helmeppo reassuringly, and just that smile made Helmeppo feel like despite the utter exhaustion and stress, everything would be okay. Just for that moment, though it was fleeting, Helmeppo smiled, and it felt like all the symptoms that made him sick in the first place melted away blissfully, exhaustion and stone-heavy limbs fading, the urge to cough, the rasp in his throat gone, but that moment was over almost as quickly as it had appeared. He unburied one hand from the mountain of blankets and held it out to Coby, feeling more than a little bad, asking for physical contact when they both already knew he was sick, but it didn’t put Coby off, as the boy reached forward to take his hand and lace their fingers together, then looked up at him.</p><p><br/>"It’ll be okay," Coby swore. "I promise. It may feel like hell right now, but it’s just a cold or something, it’ll be okay."<br/>"Coby, I-"<br/>"I'll cover for you if you’re not better by the time we're called back in to work. Don't worry about a thing. I’ll take care of you and nurse you back to health."<br/>Helmeppo gently squeezed his hand, though even to him, his grip was alarmingly weak. "I’m so damn lucky. What did I ever do to deserve you?" He shook his head, nestling comfortably against the fluffy white pillow. "I have the world's best boyfriend."<br/>Coby's cheeks tinted pink. "I-I'm not the <em>best</em>..."<br/>"Yes you <em>are</em>."<br/>"Well...thanks?" Coby rose up on his knees and kissed Helmeppo's cheek. "Now get some sleep, okay? You were awake all night last night, and probably didn’t get much sleep you got sick in the first place."<br/>"Yeah...second all-nighter in a row..."<br/>Coby brushed the young man's long hair away from his face, tucking it behind his ear. "Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up."</p><p><br/>So that was what he did, closing his eyes, relaxing in the warmth and comfort of the blankets, but nothing was more soothing than the feel of Coby's hand in his.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Christmas Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It’s Christmas, and there's a Christmas party in the Marine base, and after a year of trying, the other Marines FINALLY make some progress in getting their superiors together.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Gonna be super cringy and full of clichés, but I wanted to make a Christmas piece for y'all!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Captain-"<br/>Coby waved it off dismissively. "Please, no formalities. We're at a party!"<br/>The officer fought the urge to salute. "Of course, apologies. I see you’ve decided to attend the Christmas party after all."<br/>"Of course. I wasn’t going to, but I <em>did</em> help set it up in the first place," Coby pointed out.</p><p>"Hey, Coby!" Helmeppo's voice shouted over the music across the room.</p><p><br/>Coby's gaze darted towards the source of the sound to see Helmeppo standing there, leaning against the wall, his long hair clipped back, and he’d tried his best to dress up, but his navy blue suit, while it looked nice enough, didn’t quite match the mood of a festive Christmas party. Coby wanted to go over to him, but at the same time, he knew he was in the middle of the conversation already, and besides, last year half their division had insisted on trying to use the Christmas party to get them together. He doubted that would’ve just been dropped after their failure. Though <em>twice</em> they’d <em>almost</em> managed to get the two caught under the mistletoe the year prior, and had tried every trick in the book without much in the way of success.</p><p><br/>"Go talk to him," the officer urged, gently nudging Coby.<br/>"I will, but it’s awful rude to cut off a conversation-"<br/>The officer pushed him towards Helmeppo. "Listen, music's starting! Go ask him to dance!"<br/>"What?!? I-I..." but the officer had disappeared into the crowd already.</p><p><br/>Helmeppo had disappeared when Coby turned toward him. Coby scanned the party hall, but didn’t catch sight of him. Disappointment flickered through him. Of course, he roomed with and spoke to Helmeppo every day, but Christmas was a special time of year. The party was a time where work wasn't in the question, and the air was filled with bright spirit and cheer! Couldn’t they afford to enjoy that together? Coby's shoulders slumped, but he wouldn’t allow himself to get down about things just because he couldn’t see his friend in the crowd! He was- probably- still hanging around somewhere, after all, right?</p><p><br/>"Coby."</p><p>Coby whirled around to come face to face with the man in question. "Jeez...scare me half to death, will you?"<br/>"Here." Helmeppo slid a cup of punch into Coby's hand. "You came in a bit late, huh? Really, I thought you weren’t going to show up tonight for a while."<br/>"So did I. Honestly I just planned to go to write to Rika, go to sleep early and afford myself the gift of those extra couple hours of sleep. I dunno man. I just figured when I saw all the lights and heard the laughter...I’d be stupid to turn away a party."<br/>"And you helped set it up, no less." Helmeppo tilted his head to the side. "Nice setup, speaking of. Though maybe not ideal based on last year."<br/>"Huh? What about last year? What’s the matter?" Coby frowned.<br/>"You know. I wasn’t blind to everyone trying to set us up."<br/>"So? What’s that got to do with the setup?"<br/>"Look around, Coby. I don’t know if that was you, or more of the division trying to set us up, buuuuut..."</p><p><br/>Coby looked around. The brightly decorated Christmas tree, the silver and gold Christmas lights, wreaths above the main and back doors. Tables of food and drink along the wall, furniture pushed out of the way to clear floor space for dancing. Coby himself had planted a couple sprigs of mistletoe here and there since that had always been a traditional Christmas decoration, but he’d set them carefully out of the way. He was <em>quite</em> sure he’d only planted two or three though, not more than the half a dozen in quite obvious places. His eyes narrowed. He figured that he shouldn’t have expected anything different though.</p><p><br/>"That wasn’t me, I <em>swear</em>. I only planted the ones in the corners of the room, minus over by the table. That wouldn’t be fair," Coby pointed out.<br/>"So what’re your thoughts? Innocent adding to the decoration, or attempted setup <em>again</em>?"<br/>"We both know the answer to this. A few minutes ago, the guy I was talking to told me to ditch our conversation to...uh... come talk to you." Coby dipped from his punch to avoid having to immediately answer further questions.<br/>Helmeppo smirked. "Talk to me, huh?"<br/>"Uh-huh."<br/>Helmeppo set his empty cup on the shelf. "So was that really just <em>talk</em>?"<br/>"Um..."<br/>The blond stepped closer, sliding an arm around Coby's waist and watching as pink dusted the boy's cheeks. "Dance with me, Coby."<br/>Coby set his own half empty cup aside. "I don’t...I don't know how to dance."<br/>"It’s okay. I’ll lead." He held his free hand out. "Any other time of the year, if someone found us dancing, they’d laugh or yell at us. We’ve got the chance now."<br/>Coby placed his hand in Helmeppo's. "You know what? Fine. Let’s try."<br/>"Good. Come on, and just follow along with me, okay? It’s not that hard."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo was right, Coby found. Swaying, basic footwork paying attention to the way the hips and shoulders moved. Dancing, hand in hand. Perhaps it should’ve been relaxing, but Coby felt his own blush, and he was quite sure his palms were sweating, but Helmeppo wasn’t saying anything about it. His heart pounded in his chest, but he couldn’t keep himself from smiling despite that. They were so <em>close</em>. He swore he could feel Helmeppo's own heartbeat. Helmeppo smirked internally to feel Coby's warm breath tickling his neck, and he didn’t miss the light hint of sweat on his partner's skin, but he didn’t mind. When the song finally ended, having felt like both just the blink of an eye, yet all eternity, and they separated, Coby was strawberry red. He remained frozen in place for a moment, then bit his lip lightly and took a step back, eyes shifting away.</p><p><br/>"Coby? What’s the matter?"<br/>Coby shook his head. "I-I was probably pretty bad, s-so sorry about that, and...and um..."</p><p><b><em>Oh my GOD he’s cute!</em></b> Helmeppo stepped forward and captured Coby's hands again. "You’re fine. I promise." <b><em>Maybe last year I shouldn’t have fought so hard against the others trying to set us up, but running around trying to avoid it made Coby smile for some reason, like a little kid playing tag or something.</em></b></p><p>At the touch, Coby's gaze snapped back to his friend, but drew his hands away. "I...I...uh..."<br/>"Coby, careful."<br/>"Huh?"<br/>"You were so careful last year to avoid all the damn mistletoe, but another step back..."<br/>Coby's gaze snapped up to where the small green plant was hanging not far away. "Um...well..." He reached forward again, took Helmeppo's hand, and took that step back.<br/>"Coby, what’re you-"</p><p><br/>Helmeppo staggered forward when Coby yanked him forward...right into the long-overdue kiss. Coby released his hand in favour of firmly setting his hands on Helmeppo's shoulders instead, closing his eyes and leaning in. Helmeppo, on the other hand, stared at him in shock for a long moment before relaxing into it, closing his eyes, wrapping one arm around the rosette's waist and cupping his cheek with his free hand, thumb gently stroking Coby's soft-skinned cheek. Coby's lips tasted faintly of the sugary punch, and his touch was just as sweet. Then, all too soon, it ended, and the two of them separated again.</p><p><br/>"Merry Christmas," Coby whispered breathlessly, pulling away. "I love you."</p><p>"Merry Christmas." Helmeppo drew Coby closer, his heart soaring as the words sank in. He lay his forehead against Coby's. "I love you too."</p><p><br/>Those words, both hearing and saying them, felt surreal. Was it true, a Christmas miracle, or was it some perfect dream? <em><b>I hope and pray it’s not a dream.</b></em> Across the room, a group of their comrades...applauded. Helmeppo glared at them and they abruptly stopped and developed sudden interest in studying their food and punch. Coby took his hand again and laced his fingers with Helmeppo's, a bright smile written on his face, looking absolutely elated despite their comrades' teasing and taunts.</p><p><br/>"So...what now?" Helmeppo asked.<br/>Coby smiled from the corner of his lip. "I just...wanted you to know." He reached up and kissed Helmeppo's cheek. "Sorry for being so abrupt."<br/>"You’ve got nothing to apologize for. Love you, Coby. And come on." Helmeppo ruffled Coby's hair. "You don’t need mistletoe in order to kiss me."<br/>"Promise?"<br/>"Promise."</p><p>Coby gently stepped away and beckoned him closer, and this time, he didn’t care who saw.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Braiding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby is INSISTENT on braiding his hair. Helmeppo is just glad for the closeness.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a short little thing. Hope you enjoy! More coming since I've been writing like a maniac and these things only take like, half an hour to pull off usually.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Helmeppo stepped into the small room, brushing his hair back over his shoulders, still damp from his shower, sticking to his pale skin. Coby jumped up off his bed where he’d been reading as soon as he entered, and rushed over, grabbing his friend's shoulders tightly, his eyes lighting up.</p><p><br/>"Helmeppo! Let me braid your hair!"<br/>Helmeppo scowled at him. "For the millionth time-"<br/>"<em>Pleaaaaase</em>?" Coby pouted, reaching forward to run his fingers through a lock of the taller Marine's silky hair. "I promise I’ll do it nicely, and I won’t pull on your hair!"<br/>"Coby..."<br/>"C'moooon!"<br/>Helmeppo held up his hands, and despite himself, he couldn’t help but smile slightly at his friend's childlike enthusiasm and energy. "Okay okay, I surrender. No pulling."<br/>"No pulling, I <em>swear</em>!"</p><p><br/>Coby hugged him tightly, then grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to sit on his bed with his back to Coby, who grabbed a hairbrush and an elastic. Helmeppo folded his hands in his lap and tilted his head down slightly. The first time he’d let Coby try, Coby had tugged and been too rough. Either he’d figured out what was wrong, or he’d been practicing, because when he started, Helmeppo was surprised to find that not only did he not mind, but that despite himself, he actually kind of... <em>enjoyed</em> it. Coby's touch was gentle through the thick strands, fingers stroking back strands of hair, tucking them behind his friend's ears, or holding and twisting them into the start of the braid, a gentle pressure.</p><p>The most rewarding part for Helmeppo wasn’t the fact that it felt kind of nice, or even that Coby seemed happy to finally have the chance, after weeks of asking- though that was <em>definitely</em> a <em>huge</em> plus, given how happy it always made him to see his younger friend smile- but was primarily the fact of just being so <em>close</em> to his friend again, even if only for a heartbeat. Coby had become a bit distant recently, which was odd, so being close enough that Coby was running his fingers through Helmeppo's hair to finger-comb it back was soothing, reassuring, and it wasn’t just him. Coby was certainly feeling it too. Coby hummed as he worked, a happy smile written all across his face. <strong><em>I didn’t think he’d ACTUALLY cave</em></strong>. He brought a strand back, away from his friend's forehead, and added it to the beginnings of the braid. He was probably <em>unreasonably</em> happy about the chance. Coby tugged at the elastic wrapped around his wrist with his teeth and slid it into his palm, firmly but not roughly gripping the newly-formed braid, neat and tight, and tied it at the base. Then he tentatively released the braid that now hung at Helmeppo's back and surveyed his work proudly, hands on his hips and a bright, beaming smile on his face. Once he’d felt the lack of Coby's hands running through his hair for a minute or two, Helmeppo reached back to feel the tightly knotted and twisted locks, tied at the end with a rough, sparkly pink elastic. Coby sat there, cross-legged on the bed, looking proud of himself, and reached forward to take Helmeppo's hands when the blond turned toward him.</p><p><br/>"Well? Do you like it?" Coby asked giddily. "I tried not to be too rough."<br/>"You did perfect," Helmeppo promised. He reached forward to tuck an escaped strand of Coby's hair under his orange flowery bandana. "And yes, I like it."<br/>"Your hair is so <em>soft</em>! And all thick too. Can I do it again sometime? Please?" Coby asked, fixing Helmeppo with a hopeful, wide-eyed stare.<br/>"Maaaaaybe." Helmeppo reached over and ruffled Coby's hair. "Okay okay, here. My turn. Your hair isn’t long enough to do much with, but it’s a general disaster, so I’ll comb it back for you. Give me the comb."<br/>Coby passed him the comb. "Take your time with it. I like being close like this."<br/>"So do I," Helmeppo promised.</p><p><br/>The blond turned Coby to face away from him and removed the boy's bandana, then gently drew the thin-toothed comb back through Coby's thick, messy hair, some of the rose-pink strands getting tangled in the teeth. Much like Helmeppo had, Coby found it soothing, a hand in his hair, the feeling of the comb running over his scalp gently. He closed his eyes and hummed contentedly, shoulders slumping as he relaxed. Helmeppo did not make much of a difference with Coby's uncooperative hair, but at least he’d tried, and he’d done enough that it at least stayed in place when he slid the bandana back on.</p><p>Coby glanced over his shoulder at his friend as Helmeppo set the comb down on Coby's nightstand with a light clicking sound as the plastic touched the wood. Coby couldn’t help but just for a moment feel disappointed that moment was over, although it was inevitable. It had been forever since they’d shared any kind of close contact outside of sparring, so the moment had been nice while it lasted. <em><strong>Well I guess I should just be grateful.</strong></em> He decided. That was always how Coby had lived life though. Be grateful for whatever small mercies and accomplishments came his way. Then Helmeppo firmly squeezed Coby's shoulder and stood up to make for his own bed on the other side of the room. Despite the fact they were gradually climbing the ranks, they’d both opted to remain sharing a room, just like they had as chore-boys. For old times' sake. However, unlike old times' sake, when Coby would’ve been content to just snuggle up under his blankets and lay down to read a book by lamplight while Helmeppo tried to sleep, Coby moved the book he’d been reading off the bed to sit next to the comb, and grabbed Helmeppo's arm with a firm grip. Helmeppo froze where he was, turning and looking back at the bright-eyed Coby. His gaze locked on Coby's, and he saw for the first time the most beautiful blue he could’ve ever imagined, simultaneously sky-blue, and like the depths of midnight. <em><strong>How is that possible? His eyes...sparkle and shine so much. How have I never noticed before?</strong></em> He snapped his gaze away, worried that if he looked at him long enough, he would only end up getting lost in his companion's eyes. Then Coby whispered words, simple and quiet, that made Helmeppo's heart melt.</p><p><br/>"Stay with me."<br/>Helmeppo watched him in silence for a moment. "I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, you know."<br/>"I mean right here. It’s getting dark. It’ll be curfew soon. Hold me? I liked the closeness earlier. I want it again. Please?"<br/>"Making a lot of requests tonight, huh?"<br/>Coby pouted. "Sorry..."<br/>Helmeppo sat down p and pulled his smaller friend into his lap, pulling Coby's head to his shoulder gently. "I’m just joking, squirt. I didn’t want this to end either."<br/>Coby offered a tentative, slightly awkward, yet fond smile and cuddled closer, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his friend's neck lightly. "I have the most amazing best friend in the world."<br/>"Damn right you do." Helmeppo paused for just a moment. "If that’s really the case though...why have you been pulling away the past week or so?"<br/>Coby's gaze dropped to the ground. His cheeks tinted pink. "Okay okay...so...I...um...you’re <em>too</em> amazing."<br/>"No such thing."<br/>"Yes there is."<br/>"Elaborate?"<br/>"There’s too much amazing when it makes someone start...um... crushing on the amazing person..." Coby's voice had dropped to an awkward murmur.</p><p><br/>It took Helmeppo a moment to let the pieces fall into place. Then his eyes went wide. He stared down at Coby in shock. Coby had curled up against his chest and lay his head over his heart, a small smile on his face. A smile that made Helmeppo's heart skip a beat, then melt into a puddle.</p><p><br/>"You...?"<br/>Coby nodded, blush worsening, and he turned to hide his face against Helmeppo's shoulder. "Uh-huh. For a while now. I thought now would be a good time to tell you."<br/>"Well..."<br/>"You don’t have to say it back. I just wanted you to know."<br/>"No, hey. I like you too." Helmeppo kissed Coby’s forehead lightly.<br/>"For real?" Coby asked hopefully, eyes lighting up all over again.<br/>"For real. I never planned to say anything, just keep it to myself and not risk what we already have, but hey, you gave me the opportunity, and well...it’s up in the air now."<br/>Coby hugged him as tight as he could, beaming, and buried his face against Helmeppo's chest. "Oh my god..."<br/>Helmeppo stroked back Coby's pink hair and kissed the top of his head. "You have no <em>idea</em> how long I’ve wanted to come out about it."<br/>"Well...why didn't you?"<br/>"I guess I was worried you’d think of me as weird for being attracted to other guys, or it’d make things tense between us, and it was easier to try and bury my feelings than admit them aloud."<br/>"You never have to be worried about judgement with me." Coby's voice was soft, undeniably soothing. "I’m never going to judge you."<br/>"Never say never, Coby."<br/>"Never."<br/>"Fine. Sadly I can’t promise the same, but I <em>do</em> promise that even if you end up doing something stupid that I <em>have</em> to judge you for, even if you’re an idiot at times...you're <em>my</em> idiot." He tightened his arms around Coby to draw him closer.<br/>"Yes, yes I am."</p><p><br/>Coby reached forward and pushed Helmeppo's braid over his shoulder again to his back so he could nestle himself comfortably against the blond's muscular, broad shoulder, fingers resting lightly on his friend's chest, touch gentle, tentative. Then he closed his eyes and relaxed against him, savouring the feel of the warmth, of his companion's arms around him.</p><p><br/>"Gonna sleep?" Helmeppo asked quietly.<br/>"Maybe," Coby mumbled.<br/>"Yes or no question."<br/>"Yes. I’m tired..."<br/>"You get yourself some sleep." Helmeppo pulled Coby's glasses off and set them on his book on the nightstand. "I’ll still be here when you wake up."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Hidden Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby and Helmeppo have a very odd dynamic, and neither of them has admitted to why that is... YET.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Helmeppo, I was-"</p><p><br/>Coby stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, a bright smile on his face. Then that faded away his eyes fell on Helmeppo, turned away from him, not answering, shoulders hunched from where he lay. <em><strong>That's not normal...</strong></em> Coby made his way over to his companion, who was laying in bed, back to him. Coby settled himself next to the young man, sweeping his blond hair away from his neck and pressing a gentle kiss to his nape, wrapping his arms around the other Marine. Helmeppo didn’t turn to face him, but Coby felt the other man's hands shift to rest firmly over his own, clasped around the blond's midsection.</p><p><br/>"Helmeppo? A-Are you okay?"<br/>Helmeppo was silent for a long time. "Not really," he finally answered.<br/>"Do you want to talk a-"<br/>"No."<br/>"Okay, if you change your mind...I’m listening."<br/>"Coby."<br/>"What?"<br/>"Just..." Helmeppo finally turned to face him. "I feel like such a little kid...I’m supposed to be the one supporting you."<br/>"I get it." Coby's lips curved into the start of a smile. "Need me to hold you?"<br/>"Sh-Shut up."<br/>"Helmeppo, I'm more than capable of holding you." So saying, the shorter boy tightened his arms around his companion and lay his forehead against the blond's shoulder. "It’s okay. I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’ll be okay."</p><p>Helmeppo savoured Coby's warmth and the feeling of the arms wrapped tightly around him. "Coby, I’m sorry."<br/>Coby lifted his head to look up at the tall man. "Huh? What're you sorry for?" He wondered. "You haven’t done anything wrong."<br/>"I’ve...made <em>you</em> have to be the one to offer comfort this time."<br/>"So? Helmeppo, you can want to protect and comfort me all you want, but you don’t have to be the only one. If this is what you need right now, then I’m more than happy to give that comfort, okay? Besides, it means I can hug you and you won’t complain, so it’s a win-win, right?"<br/>"I promised when I got into this that I’d be strong. I’d be the best friend you could ask for, because you deserve it. I would be able to keep calm about whatever life throws at us so you’d never have to be worried."<br/>"That’s <em>ridiculous</em> to ask of <em>anyone</em>. I’m happy to have a give-and-take relationship. I can’t take and not give and still feel like a decent person."<br/>Helmeppo ruffled Coby's strawberry pink hair. "God I love you." He wrapped his arms around Coby's thin frame.<br/>Coby's leaned forward and kissed Helmeppo's cheek. "I know."</p><p>"Coby?"<br/>"Yeah?"<br/>"What is... <em>this</em>?"<br/>"Huh?"<br/>"Just...us. You let me hold you on a regular basis, kiss your cheek or forehead. You’re able to just...come settle next to me like this and hold me too, and...your heart pounds when I hold you. I can <em>feel</em> it. Where do we stand? I’ve...honestly never been sure."<br/>Coby's lips curved up into the start of a smile, tentative. "I don’t think we ever really talked about it," he agreed. "What have been your thoughts?"<br/>Helmeppo pulled him closer and kissed the top of his head. "We’ve been dancing around each other, putting distance between us one day, letting the distance fade away the next. Barely even looking at each other, then offering comforting touch. One way or another, you’re usually the one to initiate what kind of day it’ll be, so...you’re giving me really mixed signals."<br/>Coby bit his lip. "Okay, I...I’m sorry about that. It’s kind of hard to figure out on a day-to-day basis how to act around one's crush." Then he frowned. "Crush doesn’t sound right," he muttered.<br/>"You...?" Helmeppo trailed off, staring at his companion.<br/>Coby nodded. "Yeah." He smiled sheepishly. "I...I think I just pushed you away sometimes because...I had no idea how I was supposed to act or what to do." His smile faded. "I should’ve said it back."<br/>"Huh?"<br/>"When you told me you loved me. Even if I think I must have already known on some level, given the lack of surprise...it was nice to hear, and it...made me <em>happy</em>. I said I know. I said that because I was a coward. I didn’t have the courage to say..." his gaze dropped, averting off to the side. "To say it back."<br/>Helmeppo brushed Coby's hair back behind his ear. "You still can, if it’s true."<br/>"It is."<br/>"It’s never too late."<br/>"I-I love you too," Coby whispered, then wrapped his arms tighter around his companion and buried his face against Helmeppo's shoulder. "So much."<br/>"Coby, look at me."<br/>"Huh?"<br/>"Look at me."</p><p><br/>Coby lifted his head again to fix his eyes on the blond, and that was when Helmeppo cupped the shorter boy's chin and leaned forward to kiss him. Although more than taken by surprise, Coby leaned into it gladly, his heart running laps in his chest, his arms raising to wrap around his partner's neck as he pulled himself closer for just the brief few seconds it lasted. It was too short. When it ended, they were both a bit red in the face, but also both smiling. Helmeppo smiling just faintly, and upward curve of his lips, meanwhile, Coby was less subtle, and had a bright, unbidden smile, simply beaming, his dark eyes lighting up.</p><p><br/>"Oh my god Coby, stop being so damn cute."<br/>Coby kissed his cheek. "Ah, but that’d be boring."</p><p><br/>They lay down together, holding each other tightly, Coby's arms wrapped around the blond man and his head on his chest, Helmeppo pulling him closer and revelling in his touch. Any trace of his somber mood from earlier had since disappeared for the time being. Helmeppo had wondered, but he had never dared to hope. Yet there they were, arms wrapped around each other, Coby's head nestled onto his chest, listening to the steadily beating heart. Helmeppo's fingers running through Coby's short, messy hair. </p><p><br/>"Coby."<br/>"Yeah?"<br/>"What now?"<br/>"I guess...we could...try a relationship?" Coby asked tentatively. "I don’t want anything half-assed though. If...If we try, I’d ask for...for some level of commitment. Even if we're not looking at anything long-term or anything at this point, I want to be the only one. I don’t want to end up dedicating myself and then winding up alone again one day." He turned his dark eyes up to fix on his companion with a flickering smile, and that was all it took.<br/>"You don’t need to <em>ask</em> for commitment." Helmeppo kissed the younger Marine's forehead. "I know you have anxieties. Don’t worry so much. I would’ve wholeheartedly committed to you anyway."<br/>"I...I think I knew that. Just checking." <br/>"I would do anything in the <em>world</em> for you, just to see you smile."<br/>"That’s a bit of a stretch."<br/>"No, it’s not. Anything, Coby. If you asked for the moon, I would find a way to bring it to you."<br/>Coby couldn’t help but smile. "<em>That’d</em> be a job and a half. I won’t ask for the moon," he promised. "Just to be held."<br/>"I can do that."</p><p>"Do you feel any better now?"<br/>"What put me in a bad mood no longer holds any significance."<br/>"So you feel better, then."<br/>"Without a doubt."<br/>"Good. I don’t like it when you’re sad."<br/>"I know you don’t."<br/>"I love you."<br/>"I love you too."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. No Regrets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby makes a stupid decision and Helmeppo is mad and worried about it...even though it benefitted him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Things did not look good. The wind screaming in their ears, their division scattered across the field, a cliff to Helmeppo's back, that he was gradually being backed towards as he tried to dodge and block attacks. He could not get in strikes of his own, try as he might. It was as if his opponent could predict his every move, and was steadily driving the blond Marine back, until they were only inches away from the edge. If either of them fell off balance, it was entirely possible they’d both go over the edge. That was a hundred foot drop onto a rocky ground far below. Certain death. Helmeppo's heart pounded, and he felt the first seed of doubt spring up. He could block and defend, but if he he failed... no. He couldn’t afford to think like that. He had to get away and regroup with the division. As it turned out though, he didn’t need to rely on his own skills to end the fight.</p><p><br/>"<em><strong>HELMEPPO!</strong></em>"</p><p><br/>Coby- impulsive as ever- took a risk, lunging forward and throwing himself at the attacker, locking his arms around the man's chest to pull him away from a shocked Helmeppo. The man whirled around to face Coby, who immediately went on the defensive, ducking blows where he could, blocking his opponent's sword at the hilt with his own arm when he had no choice. The blade sliced across his shoulder, cutting away the fabric of his jacket- <strong>MUCH</strong> to Coby's chagrin- and blood poured from the wound, which was small, but deep and left a stinging, burning pain nonetheless. Coby clenched his teeth, silently cursing. Helmeppo recovered himself when he saw the crimson stains in Coby's white jacket. His blood boiled. Someone had hurt his best friend. Someone had hurt Coby. That wasn’t allowed! He readied himself and charged the attacking man from behind. The man swept out his arm without so much as <em>looking</em> as him, sending Helmeppo staggering to the side, away from the cliff, thankfully. Coby abandoned all caution and threw himself at his attacker, pushing his whole weight against the man and yelping as he himself lost his balance, pushing them both back. His eyes widened as they rolled over the edge of the cliff. <em>This wasn’t part of the plan!</em></p><p><em><br/></em>He stared down at the ground far below, and that was when Coby knew, if they fell, they would die. Then they were falling, rolling over the edge together, a flurry of limbs. Coby muttered a curse, but ultimately decided if death was inevitable anyway, then what was the point of lamenting it and counting regrets? The man he’d been fighting screamed bloody murder, but could not save himself and fell. Coby hurriedly freed himself from being entangled with the man and had to count his lucky stars. He was still high enough up that he was able to grab a ledge a few feet from the top, just by his fingertips. His breath shook, his dark eyes were wide with panic, his heart pounded against his breast. He’d caught the ledge with his bad arm, and winced as pain rippled through his shoulder and arm. He tried to pull himself up, but the ledge was small and his grip was weak. Coby's grip wavered and his breath caught. He dared not even breathe after that. A voice shouted his name, a horrified cry, then Helmeppo was at the edge of the cliff, shock written across his expression as he lifted his visor and stared down at Coby, who reached his free hand up to his comrade desperately.</p><p><br/>"Helmeppo! Help!" He begged.<br/>Helmeppo slid to the edge and stretched down, just barely able to grasp Coby's hand. "Hold on!"</p><p><br/>Coby reached up and gripped onto his friend's hand for dear life just as his other hand slipped off in the moment of distraction. He gasped as for a long moment, he dangled there, his now-free hand snapping up to grip Helmeppo's wrist. He could hear his own heartbeat. Then Helmeppo was pulling himself back, simultaneously pulling Coby up. Helmeppo grunted with the extra weight, but luckily for them, Coby was practically a featherweight overall, probably didn’t weight much more than a hundred pounds. Perks of being short. Helmeppo tugged the younger Marine’s up over the edge, where Coby rolled onto his back, chest heaving as he fought for breath, staring up at the sky with wide eyes. <em>I almost died. I almost <b>DIED</b>! The man who went over...he died. I could’ve easily gone with him...</em> That was when it sank in. He was alive and that man was not. He hadn't <em>meant</em> the fight to end like that, but even though it had been an accident, he had killed a man. Helmeppo glared at his friend, then reached forward and slapped him across the face, snapping him out of his shocked trance.</p><p><br/>"Hey! What was that for?" Coby snapped, sitting bolt upright.<br/>"You absolute <em>idiot</em>! You could’ve <em><strong>DIED</strong></em>! And for what?" Helmeppo was still for a long moment, then he wrapped his arms firmly around Coby's thin frame and pulled him against his chest, burying his face against Coby's good shoulder.<br/>"T-To save your life. If I had died...and it had saved your life...it would’ve been worth it."<br/>"I...don’t ever, <em>ever</em> do that again! I’m a grown man, Coby, I can take care of myself!" Snapped Helmeppo, pushing Coby off him.<br/>Coby crossed his arms and sat up. "I’m just trying to help!" He winced, glaring down at his shoulder. "Shit."<br/>Helmeppo's gaze shifted to the bloodied wound. "Coby..."<br/>"I’m fine, I’m fine!" Coby clapped his hand over his wound and tried his best not to wince.<br/>"You’re not <em>fine</em>." Helmeppo took Coby's hand and moved it away to look at his wound properly. "Shit...Shit, we’ve got to get you to a medic for the shoulder and the shock."<br/>"Forget it! I’m over the shock, okay? I’m alive, that’s what matters. My shoulder will recover. We have allies who need tending to, we have a battle we need to fight!"<br/>"And," Helmeppo insisted, "I have a best friend who needs to get his shoulder patched up. Come on." He pulled Coby to his feet.<br/>"Helmeppo really, I’m <em>fine</em>."<br/>"If you insist on arguing, I'm going to pick you and <em>carry</em> you to the medics."<br/>"That’d be mean."<br/>"So? Have I ever cared?"<br/>"Good point."<br/>"Hey! You weren’t supposed to <em>agree</em>!"<br/>"Well I did anyway."<br/>"Just...shut up and come on."<br/>"I’m the Division Captain. I have to get back to the fight."<br/>"Coby."<br/>"No. I promise I’ll get it looked at when we get back, okay? I need to fight for now."</p><p>Helmeppo had seen that look in Coby's eyes before. Fire. Blue fire. He had made up his mind and that was that.<br/>"Fine, but I don’t have to like it, and I’m holding you to it."</p><p>"Fine fine, whatever." Coby rolled his eyes. "Let’s go."<br/>"You recovered surprisingly well from a near-death experience."<br/>"I’m a Marine Captain. I can’t afford to let myself stay down for long."<br/>_________</p><p><br/>The battle had gone well, more or less. About half the targets in question had been captured, maybe a bit more. The others had fled. Minimal Marine casualties, four were reported to Coby. Then they had boarded the ship that would take them home. In the end, Coby's shoulder had started bugging him again, stinging, making the slightest movement incredibly painful, stiff. So when Helmeppo reminded him upon return that he had promised to let it get checked out, this time he had no arguments.</p><p>It did not go well. Their victory was dampened for Coby by news of his injury. The nurse who initially tended to it looked increasingly worried as she examined it, and wouldn’t dress it. Instead, she hurried off in alarm and called for the doctor. Coby looked up at Helmeppo, standing at his shoulder. Helmeppo looked equally worried, but tried for a smile. Coby could not bring himself to return it for once.</p><p>The doctor rushed over with his clipboard and took a few notes in silence, then he examined the wound. His look of concern was less than the nurse's, but it was still present, which wasn’t reassuring. Coby had avoided looking at the injury for fear seeing it would make the pain worse somehow. Finally though, Coby dared to look down at the wound for himself and was sickened by what he saw. It was crusted with dry blood, but parts of it looked to be turning and greyish black. That was <em>definitely</em> not normal. It was tense, and the torn skin stuck up, pale. He wanted to touch it, he was kind of curious what it would feel like on the outside, but he dared not. When he moved his arm again, he almost cried out. Even when he <em>wasn't</em> moving, every second was acute, sharp pain. He looked to the doctor, whose eyebrows were creased with worry, and whose eyes darkened upon looking at the wound. He gestured for Coby to follow him, which the young Marine did, and he was given a bed to lay on while the doctor hurriedly washed out the wound. Even that hurt. Coby's hand clenched into a tight fist. The wound could not safely be dressed as it turned out, but he was given a disinfectant and two painkiller pills that he took without question. When he was told they’d numb the pain, he didn’t need to be told twice.</p><p><br/>"Captain," the doctor finally said. "We'll need to monitor your condition. How long ago were you initially wounded?"<br/>"On the field, midafternoon, I’d reckon. I was fighting, so I wasn’t exactly keeping track of what time it was."<br/>The doctor's expression darkened. "Why didn’t you see a medic sooner? It could have been prevented from getting worse."</p><p>Helmeppo marched over in a huff. "I <em>told</em> you, Coby!" He snapped. "Maybe you should learn to <em>listen </em>to people on occasion! Jeez, you’re such an <em>idiot</em>!"<br/>Coby closed his eyes. "I know, but my officers needed me. I was the highest ranking officer on the field today." His eyes opened and he looked up at the doctor. "How bad is it? It hurts like the devil!"<br/>"That’d be because it’s infected," said the doctor.<br/>Coby stared at him. "How could it have possibly gotten infected?"<br/>Helmeppo crossed his arms. "You sound so surprised. Maybe when you hit the ground to avoid that blow to the head? Or when it was reopened by a rusty sword? Or when-"<br/>Coby shot him an annoyed look, and that shut him up quick. "I get it. Okay...what needs to be done then? I need take antibiotics and not do heavy lifting or something?" He asked.</p><p>"No," the doctor told him. "That too, but you’ll also need to be monitored, and...and this is pretty bad, Captain. You’ll need stitches, and I’m looking at it now, and my nurse reported the same thing. If this is left untreated, poorly treated, or gets any worse... you could lose your arm altogether."<br/>Coby's face fell. "Wait, <b><em>what</em></b>?"<br/>"You heard me."<br/>"I could...lose my arm?"<br/>Helmeppo whacked his friend on the head. "Again, learn to <em>listen</em> to people sometimes, Coby! If you had just gone when I’d <em>told</em> you to, it could’ve just been a damn cut, wash it out, bandage it, whatever, problem solved, but noooo! You had to get out there and fight again, open it wider, <em>and</em> get it infected!"<br/>"I know, I know, okay?!? You're right, I’m wrong, you win! Are you happy now?" Coby snapped.<br/>If Coby hadn’t been wounded and already in pain, Helmeppo was sure he would’ve strangled him. "Why you little-"</p><p>"Calm down, Lieutenant Commander," the doctor insisted. "Getting worked up at him doesn’t help matters. We'll get it cleaned out and stitched up, start the antibiotics. Captain, you won’t be on the field or training for at <em>least</em> a couple weeks. Likely more."</p><p>Coby fell back against the bed, huffing. "Stupid..." he muttered. "I’m so damn stupid..."<br/>____________</p><p><br/>After it was stitched up and Coby had returned to the room, he flopped on his bed on his side, staring at the wall blankly, careful not to put pressure on the wound. They were monitoring it very carefully and it didn’t seem to be changing for better <em>or </em>for worse. <em>No news is good news, I suppose. </em>He could lose his arm if it got any worse. That was a surprising- and unsettling- realization, one that made his heart sink.</p><p>Coby had come in fully expecting Helmeppo to have at him about it properly now that there weren’t other ears around to hear him swear and curse at a superior officer. It never happened. Coby knew Helmeppo's anger and irritation weren’t genuine, and came out of concern, but that didn’t make him feel any better about it. In fact, in a way, it made him feel <em>worse</em>. He'd worried his friend when it was something that could have been so simple if he had in fact just <em>listened</em> for once in his life. He was not surprised when the shouting <em>didn't</em> happen either. Helmeppo's reactions were varied and random at the best of times. Perhaps he’d just get the cold shoulder as Helmeppo processed it too. Coby wasn’t sure which would’ve been worse. What <em>did</em> surprise him though was when he felt the mattress shift and arms wrap loosely around his chest. </p><p><br/>"Coby."<br/>Coby teared up. "I’m so sorry...I didn’t want you to worry or get distracted, that’s part of...of why I didn’t go to the medics, and now...I’ve made it worse, and...and I just-"<br/>Helmeppo tightened his arms around his friend, taking a deep breath and slowly let it go. "Relax, Coby. Please. I don’t care that you didn’t listen to me. I just...want you to get better."<br/>"I’m scared."<br/>"Scared?"<br/>"The doctor said I could lose my arm."<br/>"Yeah. You don’t need to be scared. Just don’t be a dumbass."<br/>"Have I ever <em>not</em> been a dumbass, even if it’s by accident?"<br/>"Then I’ll stop you from being a dumbass."<br/>Coby smiled to himself, inclining his head. "I don’t see how, but...it’s the thought that counts, I suppose." He took a shaky breath. "I...um...I never said thanks."<br/>"For <em>what</em>? All I’ve done is yell and hit you!"</p><p>"Before you started yelling and hitting me, you pulled me up the cliff again. You..." He turned to properly face him, wincing at the pressure on his bad arm and shifting so the pressure was eased. "You saved my life. I could’ve- I <em>would've</em>- died if not for you." He nestled his head against Helmeppo's shoulder. "I know...I know that I’ve worried you a lot in today alone, but...thank you for saving me."</p><p>Helmeppo brushed Coby's pink hair away from his face. "You’re my best friend. What, did you expect I’d leave you hanging there? You thought I’d stand there and watch you die?"<br/>"Well no, but-"<br/>"No <em>buts</em>, Coby. I’d do it again if I had to. You’re an idiot, to say the least, but you’re <em>my</em> idiot."</p><p>Coby met the blond's dark eyes for a long moment, and there, looking him in the eye, his friend's arms around him, he for the first time in a long time really felt <em>safe</em>. "Yeah," he finally agreed. He closed his eyes with a small smile. "I am."<br/>"Don’t let that wound get worse."<br/>"I won’t, don’t worry. I’ll...I'll take the antibiotics and avoid training, I’ll stay off duty and I won’t take off the dressings before the doctor says so, I promise."</p><p>"Coby...between the infection and your fall off the cliff, I’ve never, <em>never</em> been so scared in my life. I thought...I would lose you, when you were the only person who was really <em>there</em> for me. I was angry earlier because I was afraid...that after you saved me so many times... when you needed my help, I wouldn’t be able to save you."</p><p>"But you <em>did</em>, Helmeppo. You did, and so I’m still alive. I-I owe you my life."<br/>"Then I guess we're even."<br/>Coby's lips curved into a small smile, but he didn’t open his eyes.<br/>"Yeah," he agreed. "I suppose we are. Still though..." he finally opened his eyes again and looked up at his friend. "I was scared too, but if I had to, I’d do it again."<br/>"I know you would. That’s why it’s scary. Didn’t...Didn't you have any regrets, when you were falling? Things you wished you’d done or said?"<br/>"A hundred. I accepted death was inevitable though, and why spend my last moments lamenting what couldn’t be changed?"<br/>"What were those regrets?"<br/>"I’ll tell you one day, just...I'm really wiped right now, okay?"<br/>"Understandably. Never do anything that stupid or reckless again, okay? How do you feel now?"<br/>"Sore and in pain, but..." he pressed closer to his friend. "For saving you and fighting for my allies and the people?" He shook his head. "For <em>that</em> I have no regrets."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Blankets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby likes blankets. He also likes being able to sleep properly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I dunno man. I was tired.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Coby, what on earth are you doing?"<br/>"Blankets. Lots and lots of blankets."<br/>"I can see that."</p><p><br/>It had been a bad day. Coby hadn’t felt right all day. He was stressed and had a sore throat. He was overwhelmed by paperwork during the day and kept waking up during the night, and this time was determined to change that. He had come over to his friend's place to see if company could help him sleep better, and at Helmeppo's insistence, they shared the bed. Preparing for bed, Coby had gathered as many blankets as he could find and piled them on top of himself, mostly burying all but his head under the blankets. He lifted his eyes to meet his confused-looking companion's, and Helmeppo just shrugged and pulled his own solitary blanket over herself. Sharing a bed with Coby was more than a little weird, but... in a good way.</p><p><br/>"You going to be okay? I can ditch some of the blankets if-"<br/>Helmeppo reached over and pulled Coby's bandana and glasses off to the set them on the nightstand. "Sleep. That’s the whole point of this, see if you can sleep better with company."<br/>"What if I can?" Coby asked. "It’s comfortable, and <em>you're</em> here! What if I find I can sleep and I like sleeping next to you and end up wanting to move in and sleep here every night?"<br/>"Then do it."<br/>"Huh? I was kidding..."<br/>"I’m not."<br/>Coby couldn’t help but smile to himself, cheeks dusted with rosy pink. "I-I wouldn’t want to impose, but thanks for putting that out there."<br/>"You wouldn’t be imposing at all!"<br/>Coby snuggled down under his multitudes of soft, fluffy blankets and shifted just a bit closer, turning his head to hide his steadily-growing blush. "Ah man..."<br/>"Go to sleep, Coby."<br/>"Yep!" Coby squeaked. Then he settled down and closed his eyes. "Thanks for letting me stay here tonight."<br/>"Not at <em>all</em> an issue."</p><p>Coby opened his dark eyes just for a moment and tilted his head just to smile up at his companion, and that was enough to make Helmeppo's own heart skip a beat. Then Coby closed his eyes, and he was asleep <em>long</em> before Helmeppo. Every muscle in Coby's body had relaxed, and when he breathed out, it was in quiet little puffs, barely audible, through slightly parted lips.</p><p>Helmeppo tried to just roll over and go to sleep, but having Coby there... he just couldn’t. He kept turning back to look at his friend, gaze slowly shifting over to the peaceful expression on the sleeping rosette's face. Helmeppo reached over to brush away a strand of pink hair, tucking it lightly behind Coby's ear. He drew his hand back, but let it linger just for a moment on Coby's cheek, fingers tracing his cheek and jaw with a feather-light touch before pulling back. In his sleep, Coby smiled, just the faintest upward curve of his lip, and that alone made Helmeppo smile himself. <em>He looks so... peaceful.</em> Helmeppo reached forward to brush Coby's hair out of the way and gently kiss his forehead. For better or for worse, that was when Coby's eyes flickered open, eyelids slowly lifting when he felt the ghost of a touch. At first, Helmeppo didn’t realize that his friend had drifted back to consciousness at all. Then he registered that the tiny little breath puffs had ceased altogether, and when he pulled back, his heart almost stopped when he realized Coby was staring up at him, very much awake.</p><p><br/>"Coby...I...uh..." Very articulate.<br/>"It’s okay," Coby murmured sleepily. He pulled himself closer to curl up against his friend. "I liked it. Again? Please?"<br/>Helmeppo wrapped his arms around Coby and drew him in, gently kissing his forehead. "Like that?"<br/>Coby's face simply lit up, but he said nothing, only closed his eyes again, wrapped his arms around his friend, and snuggled closer. "You’re warmer than the blankets."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo lightly ran his fingers through Coby's messy pink hair, and all he could do was smile.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Facebook</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Facebook is very useful.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Helmeppo, are you okay? You’ve been a bit...off."<br/>Helmeppo rolled his eyes as they wandered down the street. "No I haven’t."<br/>"You walked into a street sign last week."<br/>"That was an accident! It could’ve happened to you too!"<br/>"At least <em>I</em> look where I’m going." Coby grinned cheekily.<br/>"Why you little- I’ll have you know I was just trying to pay attention to you while you were talking," Helmeppo huffed.<br/>Coby smiled brightly. "I know!" He promised. Then the smile faded away. "Look man, I’m just trying to check in with you, okay?"<br/>"Okay, I’m sorry. Yes, I’m fine."<br/>Coby stopped where he was and lay a hand on his friend's arm. "Please? Talk to me."<br/>"I-I can’t. Not this time." Helmeppo's heart raced a mile a minute when he let himself meet Coby's dark eyes, felt the touch of his hand.<br/>Hurt flashed through Coby. "H-Huh? Why not? Did I do something wrong and you’re mad at me?"<br/>"No, you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just...personal stuff, okay?"<br/>"I..." Coby shrugged and shook his head. "Okay. Just...if you need to talk, you know I’m here."<br/>Helmeppo ruffled the rosette's hair. "I know." <em>Am I THAT obvious?</em><br/>____________</p><p><br/>Coby stopped into his tiny apartment and locked the door behind him. "Hey Luffy? I’m home."<br/>Luffy bounded out of the kitchen. "I made soup! Want some?"<br/>"Soup, or an excuse for soup?" Coby teased, but felt bad when Luffy just pouted at him. "Okay okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be mean about it. I’d love some soup."</p><p><br/>Soon they were seated at the table with their bowls of icky-looking soup, but although it looked more like mud than soup, it didn’t <em>taste</em> like mud. That was an improvement from last time, though Coby still regretted agreeing to be Luffy's guinea pig when it came to his cooking attempts. Even Luffy was only picking at his soup with a frown, but, never one to leave food behind- no matter <em>how</em> crappy it was- Luffy insisted on finishing every last drop, so Coby forced himself to do the same, scraping the drops of brownish grey almost-liquid off the side of the bowl with his spoon and swallowing the drops down before pushing his plate away. The two sat in silence for a moment before Coby insisted on putting the remainder of the almost-edible "food" away and doing the dishes, which...somewhat worried Luffy since one, Coby was rarely so silent willingly, two, he hated doing the hand dishes, and three, his expression was tense and almost...worried. Luffy wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed to say the least, but he had lived with Coby long enough to recognize when something wasn't quite right.</p><p><br/>"Hey, what’s wrong?"<br/>Coby didn’t even look up. "Nothing. What makes you think something is wrong?"<br/>"You look upset." Luffy meandered over to help dry the dishes. "What’s wrong?"<br/>Coby shrugged it off. "I don’t want to bore or burden you with my issues."<br/>"I wanna know!"<br/>Coby handed him a freshly-washed bowl. "Okay fine. So remember my friend Helmeppo?"<br/>"Uhhhh...names. Who?" Luffy set the dish in the rack and held out his hand, ready for another.<br/>"Blond guy, long hair, I’ve had him over for dinner a couple times."<br/>"Ohhhh him! Okay, yeah. What about him?"<br/>"He’s been...really off this past week or so. Won’t tell me what’s going on. I’m just..." Coby shook his head with a heavy, disheartened sigh. "I’m really worried about him."<br/>"He’s an adult. He can deal with it on his own, right?" However, there was an unspoken empathy behind Luffy's rich, dark brown eyes.<br/>"I know, I know, but Luffy...even adults need help sometimes, and he’s no exception! He’s always needed someone to help him, but now he’s shutting me out. Gradually, bit by bit, he’s been closing himself off from me."<br/>"That’s a bad thing?" Luffy asked. He’d hate it if any of his friends turned their backs, it had happened before, but they’d always come back.<br/>"To say the least. He hasn’t shut me out in ages. I took a walk with him earlier, but he even seemed reluctant to do <em>that</em>. Something so simple..." Coby pulled the plug from the sink and handed the last dish over.<br/>"Well...don’t beat yourself up. I’m sure if he thinks it’s a huge problem, he’ll come talk to you about things." Luffy set the dish in the rack.<br/>"I know, I know." Coby dried his hands and stepped back, running his fingers through his hair. "Thanks, Luffy. Sorry for ranting there."</p><p>"I literally asked for it."<br/>"How do you know a big word like <em>literally</em>?" Coby teased.<br/>"Oh yeah. Nami's been teaching me. Wants to help me have a bigger vocal...vacant? Van???"<br/>"Vocabulary?"<br/>"Yeah, that! Not sure what that means though..."<br/>"How can you <em><b>not</b></em> know what a vocabulary is?!?"<br/>"It’s a big word!"<br/>"It just means you know more words."<br/>"Well why can’t people just say that?"<br/>Coby sighed. He loved Luffy. Loved and admired him and his passion and determination, but living with him for a year now, his dorky roommate had long since begun to drive him nuts. "Because <em>they</em> want to have a bigger vocabulary too, and saying vocabulary is easier than just saying that they know more words. I’m gonna take a bit to relax before I head off for the night, okay?" He ruffled Luffy's hair.<br/>"I’ll stay out of your hair then."<br/>"Gonna head for bed?"<br/>"It <em>is</em> getting dark."<br/>"You don’t need an excuse if you want to sleep, Luffy."<br/>"Wellllll...then yeah."<br/>"Need anything first?"<br/>"I’m fine."</p><p><br/>With that, Luffy shot him a smile, then headed toward his room. Coby settled comfortably against their old couch, nestling his back against the worn cushion and opening his laptop, comforted by the familiar weight sitting on his lap. For a long time he just idly scrolled through Facebook, searching the marketplace and various posts from his friends until one stood out. <em>I didn’t even THINK to check Facebook and see if Helmeppo had posted anything in a while...</em> He clicked onto his friend’s face and scrolled. Pictures. An annoyed post about, yes, the day he had walked into the street sign, which made Coby smile to himself, then a newer post from that evening, in fact, only an hour prior. <em>He must’ve posted as soon as he got home</em>. Coby's gaze scanned the words, though the paragraph was long, as if Helmeppo had been stalling for time. By the time he had reached the end of the message though, Coby's eyes were as wide as moons and he swore he’d had a heart attack, his heart pounded so heavily. He slammed the laptop shut and shot to his feet, yanking his phone out of his pocket. For a second, the young man debated texting to ask about it in his anxiety and absolute shock, but that didn’t seem right somehow. So the only thing he texted with fumbling, trembling fingers, was,</p><p><strong><span class="u"><em>I'm coming over. I need to talk to you</em></span></strong>.</p><p><br/>Coby had grabbed his jacket and slid it on when his phone dinged quietly. He stole a glance down at the screen between writing a note to let Luffy know where he had gone in case the raven haired boy woke up for a midnight snack and got worried, given his crazy intuition, or if Coby ended up needing time to process and ended up for some reason staying out until morning.</p><p>
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    <em>
      <strong>Is everything ok?<br/></strong>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>Coby's hands shook. <span class="u"><em><strong>Don't know. That’s why I have to talk to you. See you soon</strong></em></span></p><p><br/>Perhaps he should’ve asked before declaring he was coming over, but not once in his memory had Helmeppo turned him away when he needed an ear. So he left the note for Luffy and rushed off into the street as the sun gradually finished its descent for the day. There was a chill in the air that made Coby shiver despite his jacket, and he was to live not far from Helmeppo's house. He knocked on the door with frozen knuckles and when Helmeppo opened the door, he immediately grabbed Coby's sleeve and yanked him inside, out of the cold. The two sat down on the couch, but Coby could not look his friend in the eye.</p><p><br/>"What’s going on, Coby? Normally you don’t come over in the evening." Helmeppo held out a hand to Coby, who gingerly took it, feeling his heart pound, and Helmeppo was no better, save for that the touch warmed his body.<br/>"Okay, um...so...I read your post about why you’ve been out of things," Coby admitted.<br/>For a moment, alarm flashed across Helmeppo's face, then it faded, to be replaced by false calm, tone curt. "So? What about it? Does it surprise you?"<br/>Coby bit his lip. "Did you do it to get my attention?"<br/>"No, I didn’t think you were on Facebook much anymore, but maybe I should’ve been more careful about that."<br/>Coby smiled from the corner of his lip, but his body and even his expression were tight. "Were you being honest?" He asked in a soft, quiet tone.<br/>Helmeppo looked down at their hands, fingers laced, palms pressed together. "I absolutely was. I was going to tell you earlier, but I chickened out again the last minute."<br/>"I think I read the post three or four times before I even registered it," Coby admitted with an awkward laugh. "You really should be more careful about putting news on who you’re crushing on out there on social media." He slid his gaze over to his companion. "You never know who'll come by it, after all."</p><p>"That’s what you came over here to talk about, huh? Give me your two cents?"<br/>Coby nodded and leaned his shoulder against the back of the couch. "Yeah. I mean...if you’d be willing to listen."<br/>"I’m always willing to listen to you. I like your voice."<br/>Coby felt his face heat up and slid his gaze away. "Ah man...well as far as my <em>two cents </em>go... why didn’t you just tell me sooner? Maybe in person? So I could hug you?"<br/>"I tried a few times and backed out at the last second. I was...was..."<br/>"Scared?"<br/>"Yeah. That."<br/>"Were afraid of how I’d respond?"<br/>"Exactly. Now that you’re here, right beside me, talking about this...I still am."<br/>"Well, you have no reason to be."<br/>"Of course I do! You found out by me posting on social media where everyone can see it, and realized I couldn’t even get the guts to tell you in person."<br/>"Maybe, but the fact you did it the way you did because you were afraid I wouldn’t want to stick around anymore, because you cared enough about what <em>I</em> would think...call me weird, but I find it kind of endearing."<br/>"You’re right. That <em>is</em> weird."<br/>"Well I guess I have no right to criticize."<br/>"Why’s that?"<br/>"At least you’re worked up the courage to say something, even if not directly to me. I just kept my mouth shut about things."<br/>"Kept your mouth shuts about things?"<br/>"You heard me."<br/>"Well I’m sure you-" Helmeppo froze. "Wait, does that mean you...?"<br/>Coby nodded. "That’s what exactly what it means."<br/>Helmeppo shoved his phone off the couch and closed the distance between them, pinning Coby down on his back and kissing him, holding it for a long moment before pulling away breathlessly. "Coby..."<br/>Coby reached up to lay his hand against Helmeppo's cheek with a small smile, running his fingers through long blond hair, silky and thick. "Goddamn, I’m the luckiest guy in the whole damn <em>world</em>. Now don’t answer that, just come down here and kiss me again."</p><p><br/>So he did, sliding his arms around Coby to hold him firmly in place, savouring the feeling of his lips, of his warmth, of their bodies pressed together. He still wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t some amazing dream, so closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, breaking the kiss, Coby was still there, staring up at him with wide, adoring eyes, arms looped around his neck.</p><p><br/>"Coby..."<br/>"It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. Just...let’s stay here and hold each other."<br/>"I’ll hold you as long as you want, and you just come here and cuddle as close as you want."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo sat up and pulled Coby up with him. He wrapped his arms tightly around the rosette and Coby pulled himself closer, snuggling his head against Helmeppo's shoulder comfortably and closing his eyes. <em>I can’t believe this is real</em>. However, he knew that it was. In dreams, nothing was ever quite that vivid. He wrapped his arms around his partner in turn, and there they stayed for the rest of the night, gradually dozing off, wrapped in the warmth and comfort of each other's embrace.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Camping</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby wants to go camping. So does Helmeppo, but he won’t admit it.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Helmeppo would you <em>please</em> give me a hand here?" Coby asked, looking up from where he’d gotten himself tangled in the tent.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Helmeppo stared down at him, expressionless, arms crossed. "No."<br/></span>Coby scowled. "Are you <em>serious</em>?" He fought his way out of the collapsed tent with some difficulty. "You’re <em>impossible</em>. Would it really <em>kill</em> you to help?"<br/>"I didn’t <em>ask</em> to be stuck out here."<br/>"Yeah, but you <em>agreed</em> to come with me!"<br/>"Only because of <em>this</em> exact situation." Helmeppo nodded towards the collapsed tent. "You’re a walking disaster recently."<br/>"You came along to help keep me out of trouble, only to refuse to help me out? Thanks, <em>friend</em>."<br/>"You’re not actually mad at me and we both know it."<br/>This was met with a glare. "Shut up. I hate you right now."<br/>Helmeppo flicked Coby's cheek. "Let’s get a fire going and start dinner, have something to eat and we'll see if you still hate me after that."<br/>Coby didn’t want to cave, but food <em>did</em> sound good after the long trip out to the forest. "Fiiiiine."</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">__________________</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Soon enough they were sitting at their tiny campfire with chips and perfectly toasted hotdogs. Tired out after having helped gather firewood, <em>finally</em> setting up the tent properly and putting all their stuff in it, Coby was halfheartedly eating, leaning against Helmeppo's side. If this bothered the latter, he certainly didn’t show it, only glanced down now and then at the half asleep rosette, who'd just finished off his hotdog and curled up, knees to his chest, head nestled comfortably against Helmeppo's shoulder.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">"Still hate me?" Helmeppo asked with a chuckle.<br/></span>Coby shrugged. "You made food and unloaded the cart, soooo..."<br/>"We're good?"<br/>"Yeah."</p><p class="p1">"Tired?" Helmeppo guessed. "You’re half asleep."<br/>"The fire is relaxing," Coby muttered.<br/>"If you’re tired, Coby, we can head to sleep. I’m not gonna make you stay up all night."<br/>"No..."<br/>"Liar."<br/>"Fine. But...we took like, half an hour to get the fire going, I don’t wanna put it out yet. If we stay here though, I’m gonna fall asleep anyway."<br/>"Go ahead. We'll stay by the fire until you’re ready to turn in, and if you fall asleep, I’ll douse the fire and carry you in."<br/>"Promise?"<br/>"Promise."</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby stared ahead at the flickering orange flames, a small smile forming on his lips and lingering. The night was starry and beautiful, the fire was warm, Helmeppo's shoulder was comfortable to rest his head on, and they had full bellies. Getting a break from work was a relief too. They didn’t get much time off, but they had ten days now, and he’d insisted on a camping trip, and had been <em>more</em> than delighted when Helmeppo finally consented to going with him. Even if he claimed he was only there to enforce Coby's safety, the faint sparkle in his eyes when he set his visor aside told Coby otherwise. </span>
</p><p class="p2">Finally, Coby <em>did</em> start to drift off. The night was clear, the air was cool, but the flames were warm, and so was Helmeppo's arm around him. As soon as he had closed his eyes, that was that. First staring listlessly at the dancing, flickering flames, warm and soothing. His gaze slowly travelled up to look at his friend, who had wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer so Coby could more comfortably settle his head against the blond's broad shoulder. Coby snuggled closer to him. Soon it became hard for Coby to keep his eyes open. His eyelids drooped until finally he surrendered. He closed his eyes and relaxed. His breathing slowed and all tension eased from his body. Even though they had shared a room back at headquarters, Helmeppo had never seen Coby look quite so relaxed. Of course, he'd never paid much attention to Coby when the boy slept. Staring would just come off as creepy, but holding him, noticing the boy’s tiny smile, relaxed and at ease, Helmeppo had the strangest urge to kiss his forehead, pull him closer, wanted to hold him for as long as possible. <em>He's so... peaceful</em>. He would’ve been content to sit with him all night, but he had promised that when Coby fell asleep, he would douse the fire and take him inside, so that was exactly what he did, putting out the last of the flickering flames and scooping Coby up, carrying him into the tent and carefully laying him on his sleeping bag, throwing a blanket over him and brushing his hair away from his face. Helmeppo lay down in his own sleeping bag and reached across to take Coby's hand into his own, and fell asleep like that, right then and there.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">_____________</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby woke up the next morning to find a blanket covering his body and Helmeppo's warm hand in his own, making him smile. His gaze shifted to his friend, still fast asleep, but he made no move to pull away. Finally Helmeppo woke. He caught Coby's eye as Coby gently squeezed his hand. Coby could’ve sworn he saw pink dusting his friend's cheeks. Helmeppo pulled his hand back with a mumbled an apology under his breath.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">"No, wait." Coby rolled onto his side and took Helmeppo's hand again. "It’s kind of nice."<br/></span>Surprise flickered across his friend's face, but he didn’t pull away. "Dork."<br/>"Helmeppo? Thanks for coming out here with me. Even if you’re not going to help with the tent."<br/>"I <em>promise</em> I’ll help take it down. It was just funny to see you floundering around like that."<br/>Coby pouted. "No fair." However, he rolled out of bed and squirmed over to lay next to his friend again.</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">"Are you <em>seriously</em> doing this again?" Helmeppo grumped.<br/></span>"You know you like it as much as I do." Coby nestled his head against his friend's chest.<br/>"Idiot." Despite the muttered insult, Helmeppo wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and pulled him up next to him. "Get over here."<br/>"Can we just...stay here for a while?"<br/>"I thought you wanted to go on a hike."<br/>"Yeah, but there’s time to go on a hike <em>and</em> cuddle like this for a few minutes, right?"<br/>"I’m fine staying here for a bit to hug you."<br/>"Give me cuddles."<br/>"Fine."</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Helmeppo pulled him close to his, where Coby nestled his head against his chest, and Helmeppo lay his head over Coby's, tightening his arms around him. Coby smiled to himself. For a brief moment, he forgot all about</span>
  <span class="s1"> the hike. All he cared about was that moment, then and there.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Drowning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby's done. He has the chance to give up and in stress and delirium, he seriously considers taking it.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Drowning...I’m drowning..</em>. Yet it was peaceful. Unable to breathe, chest constricting, feeling weightless, but there was no pain. There was no panic, no anger, no fear, only a strange sense of calm and acceptance of what was happening in the moment. It was what it was, and nobody could change that. <em>Maybe this is for the better if I can afford myself this peace in all this.</em> Then there was a voice, sharp and harsh, panicking, someone who was desperate, breaking through that blissful sense of calm.</p><p> </p><p><br/>"<em>COBY!</em>"</p><p><br/><br/>Coby's eyes slowly fluttered open, stinging with the salt water that flowed over his entire body, moving, shifting, tugging, but not in a rough and violent way. His body was numb in the shock and he felt as if he couldn’t move a muscle, which was why he was simply sinking in the first place. Through the cold water, he could see the rippling reflection of his friend. Despite craving that calm... suddenly there was something more than acceptance. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not to take it.</p><p><br/>"<b><em>Coby!</em></b>" Again, a shaky voice rising with panic.</p><p><br/>Coby dared to open his eyes all the way, take in the waters around him. Which way was up? Which was down? Where was he, aside from simply underwater? <em>How long have I been under? A minute? Maybe two? It can’t have been more if I’m still conscious...</em> A hand broke the calm waters as his friend reached down for him. Coby blankly stared at the hand as if he could not process what he was seeing, arm straining out to reach him and missing by only inches. Coby made no move to save himself.</p><p>Despite the cold, a strange warmth surrounded Coby, and he did not shiver. The waters were icy, but warmth blossomed in his chest. Freedom. He could have freedom if he just let go. <em>No...No. Not this time... I’m DONE. I spent...so long fighting, working, trying, training... but I’ll never get the chance to just live for myself. I’m done fighting. All I need to do...is close my eyes and take a breath.</em> He stared up at the shimmering blue and silver surface, at the pale hand that reached down for him, tried to block out someone calling for him desperately. Something didn’t feel right. Something about <em>him</em> wasn’t quite right, he couldn’t focus or think properly. <em>I'm sorry, but I can’t keep fighting like this.</em> Despite that, just for a heartbeat, desperation washed over him, a crazed desire to live, and he almost reached for his friend's hand. Then it faded again. He lungs deflated as the last of his air ran out, leaving a painful ache in his torso. Embracing the water around him, he closed his eyes and before he could change his mind, took that breath, feeling on the verge of panic at the feeling of water filling his lungs rather than oxygen. Then fingers closed around his wrist and he was pulled up, heaved roughly onto the shore, where he immediately hunched over, freezing, his whole body shaking, and choked out the worst of the water. It wasn’t enough. He’d inhaled too much. He felt lightheaded, choked on more of the salty seawater, then slumped off to the side.</p><p><br/>"Oi! Coby, hey!"</p><p><br/>Coby was numb, this time from the cold, from the shock of having been pulled out. Pulled away from the welcome choice of freedom. He could feel himself being shaken roughly, but he didn’t have the energy left to fight, flickering in and out of consciousness. On the brink of death, he expected, between the water and the freezing cold air that surrounded him all of a sudden, an unwelcome cold. Coby choked harshly as his companion hit him on the back repeatedly, again and again between the shoulderblades until he’d coughed up all the water possible. Then he sobbed and curled up on the ground, shaking and shivering, pulling his thin white jacket closer around his thin body. Goosebumps formed on his skin and he felt like death itself.</p><p><br/>"Coby! Talk to me!"</p><p>Coby didn’t even open his eyes. He could only bring himself to weakly shake his head. "W-Why'd you pull me o-out?" He asked hoarsely. His lungs ached and burned.<br/>"You’re alive! Thank god!" <br/>"Why'd you pull me out?" Coby repeated, with a bit more strength.</p><p>"Because we're friends and I don’t want you to die, Coby! I couldn’t not <em>try</em>. If you'd drowned and I had stood here and <em>watched</em> you die, if I had stared as you went down, what kind of friend would I have been?"<br/>"One who let me make my own decision!"<br/>The blond froze, dark eyes fixed on Coby's, which had filled with tears. "Are you trying to tell me you <em><b>wanted</b></em> to die?"<br/>"I-I...I just...I can’t..."<br/>"You took in a <em>lot</em> of water there, Coby. I’m still not sure it’s entirely out. Your chest is shaking."</p><p>"I breathed it in. On purpose. I-I chose death. I’ll never live for myself. I love the Marines, I do! M-Maybe I’d achieve my dream, b-but it’s all <em>work</em>! I...I could never make a life for myself outside of that work. Why...Why do I have to keep going? I fight, day in, day out. I’ll die young either way. I just...I wanted...wanted it to be on my own terms."</p><p>"Coby, you inhaled water. That's a slow death full of panic. I couldn’t let you die. Not like that."<br/>"Then how?!?" Then Coby coughed up more water, clutching his chest.<br/>"Coby, you’re not thinking straight! You’re panicking, you’re stressed, pushed yourself to your limit. You...You'd <em>never</em> give up on the Marines. I <em>know</em> that, and you <em>can</em> make a life and a name for yourself. At least, you can if you don’t commit <em>suicide</em>!"<br/>Coby choked back a sob. "I know! You’re right, okay? But...But if this is stressing me out so much..."<br/>"You can get past this stress. You’ve never given up on your dreams. Don’t give up now!"<br/>"Help me help me help me!"<br/>"Coby, you’re delirious."<br/>"<b><em>I KNOW!</em></b>" Coby shivered and squeezed his eyes shut. "P-Please...s-so cold...it was warm underwater..."<br/>Helmeppo pulled Coby to his chest and wrapped his own jacket over the boy. It was cold out in open air, even for him, but... Coby had been underwater. "Shhhh...it’s okay, I promise. It’s all okay. Come here."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo tightened his arms around Coby's smaller frame, pressing close, trying to lend his minimal warmth to the boy. Coby's body was racked with violent shivers of cold. That cold was desperate, chilling the rosette to the bone, making him feel like hell. He curled into a ball and tucked himself against his friend's side, breathing into his hands for warmth, then pulling the warmth of the jacket around him. Perhaps selfishly, he didn’t care if he soaked or stole the jacket. All he needed was warmth.</p><p>Helmeppo didn’t mind. He simply watched as Coby slid the jacket off his shoulders to wrap it as tight as he could around his own, shivering. The boy looked so pitiful, so scared and cold, that Helmeppo couldn’t help but feel bad for him. The blond sighed and scooped Coby up. Snow fell high above them, light for now, but who knew what would happen in a few minutes? <em>We need to get back to the base and get him some blankets</em>. While Coby tried to insist on walking on his own, Helmeppo wasn’t having it. As soon as he set Coby down the first time, the boy's knees buckled. After that, Coby kept saying he hadn’t been prepared and he’d be fine, but Helmeppo wasn't taking any chances. The last thing they needed was for him to get hurt on top of nearly dying. <em>Get him home, wrap him in as many blankets as we can find, update the doctors on what happened.</em> Helmeppo decided, and did just that, not necessarily in that order, as he answered the questions of a medic who trailed them.</p><p>Finally they made it to the tiny room they shared. The medic broke off to deliver information directly to the doctors, and Helmeppo was able to lay Coby down in his bed, where he curled up into a tiny ball, covering as much of himself as he could with the jackets. Helmeppo's was longer, and not hard to tangle himself into, but he whined a complaint as Helmeppo hurriedly turned him over and unzipped the younger boy's sopping wet, thin jacket and hung it up to dry. He cursed under his breath and grabbed a bunch of blankets, tossing them onto the bed. When Coby refused to budge an inch or take off the jacket he’d stolen, Helmeppo rolled his eyes and tugged it off, making quick work of pulling off Coby's shirt. Coby yelped, dark eyes flying wide as he stared at the blond who had moved to unbutton Coby's pants.</p><p><br/>"Whoa whoa whoa! Hey! What’re you doing?" Coby insisted in a startled squeak, squirming to try and get away, which did neither of them any good.<br/>"Calm down!" Helmeppo hissed. He moved to pin Coby down by one shoulder. "If you stay in this sopping wet outfit you’ll get hypothermia. God knows, with how much you were shaking, you might already."<br/>"I-I..." Coby's face flushed red.<br/>"What, thought I was going to... do something else?"<br/>"Hell if <em>I</em> know what goes on in your head!"<br/>"Coby, I said it before, but now I’m 100% convinced. You’re delirious. Now either take off your clothes and get dry ones, or I’ll do it for you."<br/>"I...I can’t."</p><p>"<em>That</em> frozen, huh?" Helmeppo watched him carefully, noticing the way Coby's gaze shifted off to the side and his cheeks tinted pink. "Or...are you embarrassed about your body? Coby, it’s okay, I promise. Nothing to be embarrassed about. We just need to take care of you."<br/>"But-"<br/>"That’s <em>it</em>."<br/>"Helmeppo-"<br/>"I'm your best friend and I’m trying to take care of you."<br/>"I’ll just be <em>colder</em> with my skin exposed to the air!"<br/>"Only for a couple minutes. It’s okay, I promise. I’ll get you in the warmest clothes possible and throw a bunch of blankets over you, okay?"</p><p><br/>To Helmeppo's relief, Coby didn’t argue any further when he was stripped down to nothing, even though it left him shivering. Helmeppo threw a blanket over Coby's bare body in hopes that would offer some form of comfort, and hurriedly searched through the closet for clothes, finding a black long-sleeved shirt and matching pants, replacing his socks and underwear, and being relieved when Coby, though frozen, didn’t argue against the clothes being put <em>on</em>. Coby covered himself in the blankets and buried his face against the bed's quilt.</p><p>Coby could feel his face burning. <em>He saw me naked. Me. Saw. Me. Naked. <b>GOD</b> I'm such an idiot.</em> Sure, they'd been roommates since they’d both joined the Marines, so it probably wasn’t the first time and he just hadn’t noticed, but that didn’t make it any less awkward now that he knew. However, Coby still managed a weak, shaky smile in his friend's general direction. Helmeppo scooped the younger Marine up and shifted him to lay under the quilts, then piled the multitudes of blankets over him, tucking him in. Coby freed one arm and grabbed Helmeppo's hand with his own ice-cold one. Helmeppo looked down at him. Coby didn’t need to ask. Helmeppo knew the look in his eyes. The look of not wanting to be alone. So he chuckled and shook his head.</p><p><br/>"Don't worry, kiddo. I’m not going anywhere."<br/>"Promise?"<br/>"Promise."<br/>"Th-Thanks for...for pulling me out. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. I guess...stress, fear. So thanks. I mean, I know I'm the one who tried to drown myself once I hit the water in the first place anyway, but... you saved me."<br/>"I’ll save you as many times as you need me to."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Sparring and Worms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Training becomes very confusing.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"How the <em>hell</em> are you so fast?" Helmeppo demanded.<br/>"Simple. <em><b>Soru</b></em>!" Coby vanished, to reappear behind Helmeppo and tackle him.</p><p><br/>They sparred, kukri against Haki. Coby had learned how to use his body well enough to not only hold his ground, but sometimes <em>win</em>. No, not sometimes. Almost <em>every</em> time. Amongst their peers, Coby was top-tier. Occasionally he’d have an off day, or find a challenger brave enough to go all-out and match him. This time, Helmeppo was dead-set that he would be the first that day to beat Coby. He had once. <b><em>O</em></b><em><b>nce</b></em>. Three had tried that day, three had failed. Coby had been sparring for easily two hours without rest. <em>He ought to be tiring! Can I win if I drive him to exhaustion?</em> Helmeppo had considered that a number of times, and Coby knew it. Coby <em>also</em> knew that his stamina was <em>far</em> too high. He’d outdo Helmeppo, not the other way around.</p><p>Coby was confident in his tackle, and it would’ve worked if Helmeppo hadn’t been fifty pounds heavier and a foot taller. As it was, Coby delivered a good blow, slamming right into him at the back, turning and thrusting his elbow against his rival's shoulder. Helmeppo did not go down as Coby had hoped, but he did stumble forward, only to whirl around and slash at where Coby's shoulder would’ve been had the boy not anticipated the blow and ducked it. Helmeppo expected the reason he personally almost always lost against Coby was that he felt bad. While Helmeppo had Kenbunshoku Haki just like Coby, he used it more for the observation aspect rather than attempting to practice Rokushiki. His was not primed for attack, so all he had for sparring was common martial arts- and minimal skill in it at that. If he relied on that, Coby would oneshot him with ease- and his knives. He always held back for fear that if he did by some miracle land a blow, he would cause Coby harm. The <em>last</em> thing he wanted was to be the reason his best friend wound up in the infirmary. Helmeppo knew that he’d never used his knives halfheartedly. All or nothing. The <em>only</em> reason he was comfortable enough using them in sparring like this was because he knew for a fact from about a hundred matches that Coby could and would dodge without fail. He’d only moved too late once, and it had been terrible, but that aside, he had a perfect track record. <em>Of <b>course</b> he does. He’s the golden-boy.</em>Helmeppo loved Coby. He loved him dearly, even <em>admired</em> him in some regards, looked up to him despite the fact that Coby was four years his junior, but that didn’t stop his envy at times on how painfully <em>perfect</em> Coby always was.</p><p>Helmeppo lunged, Coby ducked effortlessly and swept his leg out, forcing the blond off balance, before springing back out of the way and coming up standing again, hands up to guard his chest and face. Helmeppo narrowed his eyes.</p><p><br/>"Hey! Asshole!"<br/>Coby raised an eyebrow, a tentative smile playing on his lips. "That’s kind of rude, don’t you think?"<br/>"You’re messing with me!" Helmeppo screamed.<br/>"What gives you <em>that</em> impression?"<br/>"I’m not blind. I know Haki when I see it, and this isn’t it. You’re just using basic martial arts." Helmeppo's grip on the hilts of the knives tightened. "You’re not even <em><b>trying</b></em> right now."<br/>Coby shrugged. "Why put the extra energy and effort in against a mediocre opponent?" He deadpanned it, but Helmeppo saw a glint in his eyes, one he knew all too well, when Coby tried to provoke him, push him to try harder.<br/>"You’re just <em>toying</em> with me right now, aren’t you?"</p><p>Coby looked his eyes on his opponent, grinning. "Yeah. And I can <em>still</em> outdo you. Disappointing, really. We trained under the same mentor. I had hoped I’d at least have a fair match in you, buuuut pity, I guess I was wrong. Helmeppo...why do you hold back? Are you <em>afraid</em> to hit me? I know for a <em>fact</em> you can use those knives <em>damn</em> well against opponents worse than me."</p><p>"Yeah. <em>Armed</em> opponents. I’m not primed to go against Rokushiki."<br/>"I wasn’t even using Rokushiki."<br/>"Soru."<br/>"Fine. I’m not <em>consistently</em> using Rokushiki. If you really want to get up to my level like you say, then <em>try harder.</em> I won’t go easy on you, you’d better not go easy on me."<br/>Helmeppo clenched his jaw. "You know what? <em>Fine</em>. I <em><b>WON'T</b></em>! What do <em><b>I</b></em> care if you get yourself hurt? That’ll be your own fault."<br/>Coby smiled softly, just from the corner of his lip. "Exactly. If I get hurt, it’s because I wasn’t good enough this time, not because you were <em>trying</em> to hurt me. Any injuries I sustain are my fault and mine alone. Now try again, and this time, don’t hold back."<br/><br/></p><p><br/>Helmeppo <em>didn't</em> hold back. For a moment, he saw Coby pause and take a deep breath, gathering his energy, composing himself, and that was when Helmeppo lunged. Coby looked a bit out of it, but he was alert as ever and narrowly managed to sidestep easily and throw a punch to his companion's side under the ribs before sliding back, bending back to avoid a stroke of the kukri. Helmeppo glared and charged at him again, aiming to take his legs out from under him. Coby stepped back, but was a second too late and one of his legs was caught. He yelped and staggered, going to one knee. However, he still grinned. </p><p><br/>"The match isn’t over until you have a sword at my neck."<br/>"Interesting. You <em>can</em> be overpowered!"</p><p><br/>Helmeppo had spoken too soon. He moved the blade from Coby's chest to lay it against his neck, and in the free second in between, Coby lunged forward, sliding between his opponent's legs and landing behind him, repeating his maneuver from earlier. This time, Helmeppo did not stagger. He remained where he was. He didn’t even turn. <em>Wait for it</em>. He reminded himself.</p><p>Coby narrowed his eyes in confusion, but attacked again, this time aiming a solid punch towards his opponent's upper back, carefully judging the hit location. <em>Don't want to hit between the shoulderblades. I know my own strength. If I broke something there, it could kill him. Not too low or it won’t have the right impact...</em> Then he threw his punch.</p><p>Helmeppo sidestepped it, barely, and spun, blades rotating as a fan might. This time, he drew blood, blades scoring once, twice, across Coby's shoulder. Coby hissed through clenched teeth, but while the wounds bled considerably, annoyingly wetting his jacket, the wound itself was not deep. Helmeppo froze. <em>I hurt him. I drew blood. He’s bleeding. Because I hit him</em>. He'd promised he wouldn’t feel bad, but he couldn’t help it. His heart pounded. Guilt shot through him, again and again, almost touching his very soul. Coby no longer seemed dazed by it, however, and kicked off the ground to throw himself forward, tackling his partner to force his back up against the wall. Helmeppo gasped, back slamming into the stone wall, the shock forcing him to drop one of the knives. Coby put himself between the fallen knife and its wielder. The uncertainty and doubt in Helmeppo's eyes was what Coby sought. From where he was, Helmeppo couldn’t attack in close-range, and Coby could. <em>Easily</em>.</p><p>The blond locked his eyes on Coby's face. Helmeppo had seen that look before. The look on Coby's face in a fight. Or rather, the look on Coby's face at the <em>end</em> of a fight. Coby had won and he knew it. Instead of ending the fight with the pin or disarm he needed, Coby made a point of leisurely chasing him along the side of the wall, blocking escape, able to get lighter blows in without being in range of taking damage. There was a strange gleam in his eye, a dark sparkle Helmeppo saw so rarely, a grin spreading across Coby's face, the slight downward slope of his eyebrows. Coby was a generally cheerful, upbeat, and empathetic soul, and Helmeppo loved that, but in his little moments of victory, the way he played with his opponent, that wide grin and the glint in his eye...almost madness. <em>Just like a predator who knows its prey is cornered.</em></p><p><br/>"You enjoy this, don’t you?" Helmeppo pressed himself back, aiming to put just a couple more inches distance between them. Normally, distance between them was not desirable, but could he get a strike in this way, then hug him and see to his injuries after?<br/>"Oh <em>absolutely</em>. We both know your attempts are futile."<br/>"Untrue!" Helmeppo insisted, blocking Coby's oncoming punch. "It’s not over until I’m pinned or completely disarmed!"<br/>"And how long do you think it would take me, Helmeppo? Not five seconds."<br/>"Go ahead and try. I <em>dare</em> you," Helmeppo sneered.<br/>Coby's smirk only grew. "Show of bravado, huh? Impressive, but useless."<br/>"Then why isn’t the match over? Hesitating? Worried I still have some trick up my sleeve?"<br/>"Not for a <em>second</em>, Helmeppo."<br/>"So you’re still playing your little game is all?"</p><p><br/>Coby threw a punch- though not hard- to his opponent's gut. Helmeppo blocked with the hilt of his blade, but there was no way he could do damage. Coby winced as metal hit bone, and pulled back, only to launch another punch. Helmeppo could tell it wouldn’t hit. It cracked the wall next to his head a couple inches away. The look on Coby's face suggested this was intentional. A warning strike. <em>He IS worried I’m up to something. He’s hesitating.</em> Coby's grin had faded, replaced by a dark seriousness. Jaw clenched, eyes slightly narrowed, locked on his opponent with a burning intensity. <em>Somehow handsome AND intimidating, at the same time, no less. I see why he unnerves opponents.</em> Helmeppo thought to himself, perhaps a bit mockingly. He had sparred and lost to him before, but he’d rarely been on the receiving end of the worst of either Coby's dark glare <em><b>OR</b></em> his manic grin. He wasn’t a fan of either.</p><p><em>He can’t pin me because I’m so much taller than him. Is he trying to find a way around that?</em> That wasn’t the problem though, nor was it true. Helmeppo would’ve spoken again, but that was the second Coby decided he’d had enough of toying with his prey. He lunged and gripped Helmeppo's wrists, using the heartbeat of shock to pin his wrists against the wall and press his body against his opponent's as to prevent movement. Helmeppo struggled to try and force Coby off him, which was normally not a hard task, what with being considerably stronger, but pinned firmly to a wall and with use of only one hand, this proved impossible. His heart ran laps in his chest. He found himself eyeing Coby, looking him up and down, his slim, yet muscular body, perfectly built, his face, locking eyes with him, his gaze then falling to the boy's thin, pale lips, then up again to his eyes. If Coby noticed, he gave no indication, too focused on the match for such things. Coby pried Helmeppo's fingers away from the hilt of the blade with some difficulty, and the knife clattered to the ground next to them. Coby grinned at his indisputable victory, then stepped back, only to be caught off-guard when his former opponent caught his collar and yanked him forward again. Annoyance flashed through him. He wanted to point out that the match was over. There was no sense in trying to continue a fight that had already been won. Apparently that wasn’t the plan though. He had in fact not <em>entirely</em> missed the way his friend's gaze had scanned him, he’d simply chosen not to pay attention. As far as he was concerned, Helmeppo had been searching for a weak point. A way of escape. Dodging around him. As such, it caught him <em>completely</em> off-guard when the blond drew him in by his shoulders and leaned in like he was going to...</p><p><br/>"Helmeppo, what the <em>hell</em>?!?" Coby roughly shoved him away and glared at him. "Were...Were you going to <em>kiss</em> me?"<br/>"Uh, yeah. Kinda the idea."<br/>Coby blinked, staring at him in silence. He’d <em>fully</em> expected it to be blown off as some kind of joke. "Wait...what?"<br/>"I said yeah."<br/>"I...um...okay, hang on, I’m just gonna like...pass out for a bit or something."</p><p><br/>With that, Coby slumped back against the wall, staring blankly in stunned shock out at the wide, yet empty training field, but not really <em>seeing</em>. Helmeppo chuckled and sat down next to him, reaching over to ruffle his hair with a good-humoured gleam in his eyes. Coby didn’t even look at him.</p><p><br/>"Don’t worry. I won’t if you don't want me to."<br/>Coby nodded listlessly. "I...uh...just...wow."<br/>"Sorry."<br/>"Don’t be. I just..." Coby shook his head. "It’s a lot to process. Is it...?"<br/>"Is it genuine? Is that what you’re asking?"<br/>"Yeah. Not just...curious?"<br/>"Would it be a problem if I <em>was</em> just curious?"<br/>"Yes!" Coby snapped.<br/>"And if I wasn’t?"<br/>"Then...Then that’s a whole other can of worms!"<br/>"Coby, calm down. Just breathe."<br/>"I will not <em>calm down!</em>"<br/>"Coby <em><b>please</b></em>."<br/>"Which is it?"<br/>With that, Helmeppo smiled. "A can of worms."<br/>"Well then..." Coby smiled to himself, a sideways smile he was sure Helmeppo couldn’t see, watching a tiny little worm inch by. "I guess I like worms a bit more now."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Wake-Up Call</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby... isn’t doing so good. Helmeppo's determined to wake him up before it all goes to hell.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Coby..." Helmeppo took the rosette's hand shakily. "Come on..."</p><p><br/>Coby did not respond. He <em>could</em> not. His eyes were closed, his whole body limp, not the slightest twitch. Helmeppo glanced up at the IV that pumped nutrients and medication into the boy's body, at the monitor that showed his slow brain waves, breathing, and heartbeat. The young man lay his hand over Coby's heart shakily, gripping his shirt and shaking his head.</p><p><br/>"You idiot..."</p><p>The nurse came over to check the monitor, frowning. "No reaction?" She asked. "We had hoped he would respond to your presence."<br/>"So did I, but nada."<br/>"His heartbeat changed," she reported.<br/>Helmeppo's heart sank. "Weaker, or stronger? What’s the verdict?"<br/>"He’s going deeper in. He’s comatose."<br/>Helmeppo felt sick. "How long...?"<br/>"I don’t know."<br/>"What now?" He asked shakily.<br/>"We'll keep trying for him a while longer, but supplies are limited. So if we don’t get a reaction at all, or things get worse, we may have to take him off life support."<br/>Helmeppo tightened his grip on Coby's hand. "Coby, come <em>on</em>! Don't you die on me, you hear? Don’t you <em>dare</em>!"<br/>"It’s not his choice, nobody would <em>choose</em> this."<br/>"I don’t <em>care</em>! He's Coby, he can make the impossible possible! He'll wake up, I swear! He’s not done yet."<br/>"We'll give him as much time as we can afford to, just be prepared for the fact that...that he might not come back."<br/>"He will. I’m sure of it." Once the nurse had gone, Helmeppo moved closer and lay his head on Coby's chest, breathing against his neck.</p><p>"Dammit, Coby... get up..."<br/>_________</p><p><br/>Two more days of silence. On the third day, time finally ran out. There had only been two changes, those changes being Coby's breath becoming shallower, and his heartbeat slowing into almost nothing. Helmeppo refused to leave his bedside for more than sleep, and even then, he tossed and turned. It didn’t feel right that he should be able to rest when Coby was dying. <em>He's dying because he prioritized ME. I'M the reason he’s laying so still in that damn hospital bed</em>. He realized.</p><p>He got the message on the fourth day. Coby had been on too long. It had been two weeks now without any signs he’d come closer to consciousness. They were taking him off life support as to not prolong his pain needlessly, and thus end his chances at life. Things were only getting worse, and Helmeppo knew that, but... he still couldn’t bring himself to just let Coby go. He didn’t deserve to die. Not like that. Helmeppo hurried to the infirmary as one of the nurses pulled the IV out of Coby's arm. He threw himself forward and slammed said nurse back against the wall. Alarm shot across the nurse's face as he hit the wall rather suddenly.</p><p><br/>"Don’t do it. Don’t you <em>dare</em> do it!" Helmeppo insisted. "He just needs a little more time. Just a couple more days. He'll come back. I know he'll come back!"<br/>"Sir, it’s too late. We can’t-"<br/>Helmeppo rushed over to Coby and shook him by the shoulders roughly... then watched in horror as the younger boy stopped breathing altogether. "No... No no <b><em>no</em></b>! Coby, come <em>on</em>! Wake up! Wake up dammit..."</p><p><br/>Coby did not respond. Helmeppo could do nothing but watch in grief and shock as the doctors removed the IV. Helmeppo scooped up Coby's limp, nearly weightless form and kissed his forehead. <em>They’re giving up on him. They think he’s too far gone. He’s not. I know he’s not breathing, but...maybe his breath just caught, right? He’s dreaming, maybe it’s just not a good dream. He can still come back...I’ll take care of him, no matter what that takes. I swear I will. It’s my turn to be there for him.</em> When nobody stopped him, the blond kissed Coby's forehead and carried him off to their old room before anyone could try to take the limp body from him. He sat down on his bed and lay Coby's head on his lap, brushing his pale hair from his face.</p><p>For two days, he tended to Coby, sneaking what food he could and carefully feeding him the soft foods and giving him water. Continuous attempts at waking him proved futile. He’d started breathing again, but that was the only sign of life until that third day while Helmeppo fed him attempts at dinner, and the boy's eyelids fluttered. His eyes slowly opened, halfway, so he could blearily look up at Helmeppo. He was exhausted. Every muscle hurt. Helmeppo's expression was one of clear worry. He had tilted Coby's head back a bit and applied a light pressure to the boy's jaw to open his mouth and had scooped soup into a spoon that hovered near Coby's lips, as if trying to spoon-feed him. Coby found it simultaneously amusing and heartwarming. <em>He's...trying to take care of me. I was hurt, he could’ve left me for dead and gotten out of there, but he brought me back and is taking care of me.</em> Coby leaned forward, parting his lips to take the soup, which Helmeppo happily fed him. Everything felt wrong. Aching. His mind couldn’t hold any one thought for too long. <em>I have a concussion, right? I got hit, had a concussion, passed out. No wonder he’s worried...how long have I been out? An hour? A day? He’s worried enough to be spoon-feeding me, so...</em></p><p>Coby tried to sit up and felt dizzy. The lights, dim as they were, were practically blinding, and he had a pounding headache in the back of his skull. Helmeppo set the half empty bowl of soup aside and pulled Coby up to lean against his chest. Coby stole a quick glance at the soup, noting his throat was dry, and his stomach ached, felt nearly empty. Would the broth help? He looked up at his friend, who chuckled and passed him the bowl.</p><p><br/>"Welcome back to the land of the living. Think you can eat on your own?"<br/>Coby took the spoon, though his hand shook. "Hell if I know." He closed his eyes to block out the bright light. "What...What happened? H-How long have I been out? A couple hours? A couple days...?"<br/>"A couple weeks, Coby. You almost died. You...You were in a coma."</p><p>Coby's eyes snapped open again and he choked on his soup. "Whoa whoa whoa. A couple <b><em>WEEKS</em></b>? I...I...no, but that’s impossible! Have you...been caring for me that whole time?"<br/>"I...I wasn’t your primary caregiver until a couple days ago. You were in the infirmary and they decided...to take you off life support when you didn’t respond to anything for so long."<br/>Coby set the bowl aside, his arms shaking. "They...They were going to let me go? They...gave up on me?"<br/>"Yeah. They think you’re dead. Were you able to hear or feel anything?"<br/>"I heard voices, and beeping. Then that beeping stopped. So did the background noise. I guess...that was them taking me off life support? Felt someone hold my hand. I-I heard...heard you telling me to come back. Felt you kiss my forehead, but there were times I slipped in and out. I d-didn’t know where I was, I couldn’t see or speak or form proper thoughts..." Coby shuddered.</p><p>"You...did it for me." Helmeppo wrapped his arms around Coby's waist. "You...You took the shot for me, and you went over the edge of that cliff...you fell and took a hit to the head. Coby...you’re lucky you’re alive."<br/>Coby froze. "It...It would’ve killed you." The memories washed over him. It all came crashing down at once. "I’d do it all over again i-if I had to. I could never stand by and let you die, and I know you’d have done the same for me." He looked up at Helmeppo. "Thanks...for not giving up on me, even when the doctors did. F-For nursing me back to health."<br/>"Oh I wouldn’t say you’re <em>healthy</em>. Nowhere <em>close</em>. You’re just not comatose anymore."<br/>"Um...can I kiss you? I liked it when you kissed my forehead, and like...you’ve been taking care of me when it was assumed I would just die. You never gave up on me, even when it would’ve been easy- maybe even reasonable- to. I <em>literally</em> owe you my life."<br/>The blond chuckled and kissed Coby's cheek. "You don’t need to ask permission. I’ve liked you an <em>unfairly</em> long time."<br/>"I still <em>want</em> permission."<br/>"Permission granted."</p><p><br/>Coby turned to lean forward and kiss first his cheek, then hover half an inch from his companion's own lips for a moment before taking the plunge. A full-on kiss. A <em>real</em> kiss. His heart ran laps in his chest, his hands stopped shaking enough he could set them on his companion's shoulders. Helmeppo leaned into it, feeling his face heat up and his heart pounding. Finally that kiss ended though, Coby pulling back and just smiling up at him, that beautiful, sweet smile Helmeppo had come to love.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Author's Note: I may or may not do an expansion piece or a similar one but a bit longer on this for a later one if people like it, but I just wanted to get this one out there.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Hiding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Helmeppo messes with the wrong people. As usual. Now they’re both screwed.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Quick, in here!" Coby hissed.</p><p><br/>He grabbed Helmeppo's hand and yanked him into the tiny alleyway as their pursuers approached, shouting. Coby hadn’t realized it’d cause such an upset. How was <em>he</em> supposed to know the man Helmeppo had punched in the bar was sick? He hadn’t been showing it, and now all the friends the guy had brought along were pissed at them! He shot his friend a sideway glare, subtle, irritated. <em>I'll kill Helmeppo for this later...</em></p><p>Helmeppo staggered into the alleyway after them. Could it even be called an alleyway? There was so little space between the walls that Coby could barely breathe, and the two were only inches apart if that. Coby held his breath as their pursuers rushed past and spread out in their panic. The rosette's heart pounded. <em>Why am I so afraid? I’m a Marine. I chase down and fight pirates for a living, yet I’m afraid of a few guys with big sticks? I'm <b>PATHETIC</b>.</em> Coby decided, inwardly fuming, cursing his own name.</p><p>Only once their pursuers had gone and a silence fell over the street did Coby dare to breathe again, slowly exhaling, his shoulders slumping. Helmeppo remained right where he was, unable to do anything but watch Coby. With his broader, taller frame, Helmeppo...really had zero room to move unless Coby decided to scoot out again. That was fine though. Just standing there was fine, so close he could take in Coby's warm, sweet scent, soothing, yet making him ache. Making him want desperately to reach out and hold him, to run his fingers through Coby's hair or kiss his forehead. But he couldn't. <em>Especially</em> given the look on Coby's face once he straightened, the look of frustration. A look Helmeppo had been on the receiving end too many times. Jaw set, eyes just slightly narrowed, the Marine's expression somewhere between anger and dryness. Unreadable, had Helmeppo not been on the receiving end so often and picked up the pattern. <em>It's depressing it’s been directed at me enough I could do that in the first place</em>. Helmeppo quickly decided he didn’t like that face.</p><p><br/>"Helmeppo."<br/>"Stop glaring at me, Coby. Jeez." Helmeppo pressed himself back almost painfully against the wall when Coby leaned in, glaring intensifying.<br/>"I’ll glare at you whenever I want, dammit!" Coby jabbed his chest firmly. "What the <em><b>hell</b></em> was that?"<br/>"I know you won’t believe me, but that guy was trying to flirt with you."<br/>"So? Guys can flirt with guys, can’t they? Besides, he was probably just drunk or something. Why's it matter anyway?"<br/>Helmeppo stared blankly at him. "Because I don’t like it when people flirt with you, and also, you kept looking over at me like you were asking for help."<br/>"I was checking to see how you’re doing! And what’s the problem if someone flirts with me, huh?" Coby demanded. Then his glare lessened as he became aware of Helmeppo's pounding heart. "Wait...I’m out on a limb, right?"<br/>"What?"<br/>Coby yanked his hand back. He was silent for a moment, then shuffled forward and lay his hand on Helmeppo's chest, almost immediately feeling his friend's heartbeat speed up. "I’m right, aren’t I?"<br/>"Right about <em>what</em>?" Helmeppo snapped, but he didn’t push Coby away.<br/>"You...You stuck around all the time and punch people for flirting with me... because <em>you</em> like me, don’t you?"<br/>"Of <em>course</em> I do. You’re my best friend."<br/>"No, I mean like me in the way that someone flirting with me might."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo fell silent at the question. For a long moment he considered deflecting it. Would that have even done anything? Coby was no fool. Impulsive, gullible, perhaps, but he wasn’t stupid, and Helmeppo couldn’t do it. Couldn’t lie. When Coby raised beautiful eyes so dark he could get lost in them, Helmeppo found that even when he thought of saying no, he just couldn’t do it.</p><p><br/>"<b><em>Yes</em></b>, Coby. Can’t believe it took you this long."<br/>"Well it didn’t <em>really</em>-"<br/>"Coby, you’re a bad liar."<br/>Coby's face tinted pink. "I’m stupid..."<br/>"You’re not stupid. Just unobservant. There’s a difference."<br/>"No." Coby took a shaky breath. "Well...it goes both ways."<br/>Helmeppo's gaze fell to Coby's lips, pale, soft, practically begging to be kissed. He reached forward to traced his thumb lightly over Coby's lower lip. "I’m going to kiss you."<br/>"Huh?"<br/>"You heard me. I’m going to kiss you."<br/>"Then why haven’t you already?" Coby tilted his head just, just the tiniest bit, and half closed his eyes. "Go ahead."<br/>"Are you drunk?"<br/>"No."<br/>"Good. I didn’t want to take advantage if you were."</p><p><br/>With that, Helmeppo leaned forward that last inch to close the distance between them. Coby's lips were warm, soft, and Helmeppo savoured the way Coby leaned into that kiss. Coby reached up to wind his arms around Helmeppo's neck, pulling himself up to lean into the kiss. <em>Curse being so damn short</em>. Just like that, all his earlier frustration melted into nothing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Masterpiece</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby picks up a new hobby. Helmeppo is his guinea pig.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hold still! I can’t work if you’re squirming around like that," Coby grumbled.<br/>"Sorry, sorry. It just...feels weird."<br/>"I know, but it’s <em>not</em> going to hurt you, and if you don’t like it when I’m done, we can get rid of it."<br/>"I don't think I could <em>not</em> like anything that came from you."<br/>Coby smiled just the slightest bit, the upward curve of his lip. "Then hold still, will you? You don’t have to do anything, just relax. If all your muscles are tight, it won’t work properly."<br/>"Fine fine." Helmeppo raised his eyes to meet Coby's for the first time in a while. "I love you."<br/>Coby kissed his cheek, smiling. "I love you too."</p><p><br/>After that, with quick, deft strokes, Coby's fingertips grazed his boyfriend's chest, a light streak right down the middle. Coby's expression of frustration melted into one of happiness and ease, a smile resting on his face. Helmeppo hummed quietly at the cool touch. Coby slowly breathed out, breath stirring strands of hair that had flopped into his face. He pushed his bandana up further on his forehead again. In the heat of the tiny room, Coby was sweating. He was sure he wasn’t the only one either, and that most certainly wasn’t helpful at the moment. He kissed Helmeppo's cheek one more time before he raised his hand to ghost his fingers across his partner's cheek, the touch so light that Helmeppo barely even felt it.</p><p><br/>"Hey, you almost done, or what?" Helmeppo grumbled, but there was no denying he was enjoying it at least on <em>some</em> level.<br/>"Almost. I’m sorry. I know I’m taking longer than I expected. Thanks for sticking it out with me." With that, Coby shot him a smile that made everything all better.<br/>"Well I’m guessing you wouldn’t leave me much choice either way."<br/>"That’s not true! If you told me to back off, just forget it, I would! I’m not doing anything for the sake of being <em>invasive</em> or anything."<br/>Helmeppo watched him, the wariness in his eyes, the pout on his face. "Okay okay, I’m sorry. Come here."<br/>Coby leaned forward and pecked his lips softly. "It’s fine, it’s whatever." He shrugged.<br/>"Okay, I promise I’ll shut up. No more complaints."<br/>"Are you actually annoyed by it, or...?"<br/>"No, it’s kinda nice once you get past how <em>sticky</em> it is."<br/>"You <em>just</em> said you weren’t going to complain. Besides, give it a minute and it won’t be so sticky anymore."<br/>"I know, I know. Okay, sorry. Continue."<br/>"Take a deep breath for me and hold it just for a few seconds, okay?"<br/>"Gotcha." </p><p><br/>Helmeppo took a deep breath in and held it, watching Coby. Coby had been at it for three <em>hours</em> now. It was certainly interesting, and Coby was certainly skillful, no matter how much time it took. So Helmeppo watched in wonder, as surprised and awe-struck as he had been when they’d first started, as Coby worked. Swift, almost mindless strokes of the hand, yet a thoughtful look on his face. Happiness lighting those beautiful eyes, a smile playing on his face. Helmeppo looked down at his own pale, mostly bare body, or what had once been.</p><p>Now his skin was painted with all the colours of the rainbow and then some, perfect blends, elaborate designs. Patterns and shapes and so skillful Coby was that he’d even captured <em><b>textures</b></em> properly on Helmeppo's skin. The touch was cold, and sure, Helmeppo complained a lot, but it felt nice too. Cool and sticky, tacky, but the thick paint dried soon. Coby instructed him to let out the breath and he stared down at what was now a golden-yellow crescent moon, whitish dots surrounding it on a blackish blue background against his skin. A perfect picture of the night sky. Below it, shadowed grass, some of the blades facing the wrong way or bending as if they were being blown by an invisible breeze. His arms, his legs, everything had been painted with the same blackish blue and either grass, stars, or trees, in the case of his legs. The paint extended all the way up to his neck, where it was orangish pink like the sunset. Most of his face had been spared but for where Coby's fingers had brushed, leaving thin silvery marks. Coby examined his work, walking around Helmeppo in a circle, having done his whole body up in a similar fashion, and finally he nodded. His best work so far, after a little more than a year of practice. Though he usually used canvas, or his own face, chest, and forearms, he couldn’t do his whole body <em>and</em> have it turn out looking actually good, regardless of whether he used the finer, softer paints of airbrush, or the precise, solid strokes of a hand-held brush. So he had been <em>more</em> than a little excited when Helmeppo had seen him trying to paint his arm that morning and offered to be his new canvas. Coby set his brush back in the jar of water to dye the now-yellow liquid. Then he looked Helmeppo up and down, gesturing for him to follow and stopping him in front of the full-length mirror Coby used when he was trying to practice on himself. He rocked back and forth on his heels, eyes sparkling, and turned to Helmeppo to try and gauge his boyfriend's reaction.</p><p><br/>"Weeeeell? Do you like it?"<br/>Helmeppo stared in shock at the detail and texture. He’d known it was there, but not to exactly what degree. "You...really went all-out there, Coby."<br/>"Of course I did. I never do <em>anything</em> halfheartedly. Do you <em>like</em> it though?"<br/>"I love it, Coby. It’s amazing. Not as amazing as its perfect, beautiful artist, but a close second."<br/>"It’ll take about five minutes to dry, then everything should feel normal, don’t be afraid to move as normal. Shouldn’t mess it up. That’s why I needed the muscles all relaxed."<br/>"And you said you’ve been doing this for like...a year? Only a year? Really?"<br/>"Yep! I think I came in having some degree of natural talent, and I’ve studied art and worked hard when we're not working."<br/>"Is <em>that</em> what all those late nights were about?"<br/>"I told you I was staying up for work, didn’t I?"<br/>"I didn’t exactly think <em>this</em> was what you meant."<br/>"You gonna complain?"<br/>"No, that’s not what I mean. It felt kinda nice, if not a bit weird."<br/>Coby kissed the man's unpainted cheek. "Thanks for letting me paint you." Coby hugged him tightly.<br/>"Coby, you’re gonna-" Helmeppo sighed when Coby pulled away and stared awkwardly at his paint-stained clothes, shaking his head. "-get paint on you."<br/>"It didn’t damage the piece much, so I don’t mind!"</p><p>Helmeppo glanced at Coby's hands and wrists, which had long since been flecked with now-dried paint. "You should wash up."<br/>Coby looked down at his paint-stained pants and shrugged. "I guess..."<br/>"You’ve got some on your face too."<br/>"Ah, the sacrifices of an artist," Coby joked, grinning.<br/>"Dork. Go get washed up."<br/>"Okay okay, fine. Jeez, I’m due for a shower anyway."<br/>"You go shower then."<br/>Coby raised an eyebrow at him, smirking from the corner of his lip. "You’ll have to get the paint off eventually."<br/>"I know. I’ll take care of that later."<br/>"What, not planning to join me?" Coby nodded towards the bathroom. "C'mon."<br/>"You <em>just</em> finished it."<br/>"More worried about the paint than the fact I’m telling you to shower with me? Must be <em>really</em> good work."<br/>Helmeppo rolled his eyes. "<em>Please</em>, Coby. If we showered together, there’d be so much paint running we wouldn’t have much chance to get <em>clean</em>. Y'know, shower properly."<br/>"Oh is <em>that</em> why we wouldn’t shower properly?" Coby tossed his jacket to the side before heading for the washroom. "If you’re suuure..."<br/>"That’s Coby for you’re not giving up yet, isn’t it?"<br/>"Mmm-hmm."<br/>"I just don’t want to ruin your masterpiece."<br/>"I can recreate my art anytime. Hoooowever, it <em>is</em> getting late, and we still have to do dinner, and try to actually get a good night's sleep. Early shift tomorrow."<br/>"I’m still gonna feel bad."<br/>"Then I’ll paint it right back on again when we have more time."<br/>"Deal."</p><p><br/>Coby took his black and blue-painted hand and half dragged him into the bathroom.<br/>__________</p><p><br/>"We’ve got a shift in less than an hour and you want me to paint you <em>now</em>?" Coby demanded as they prepared to set off for their shifts the next morning.<br/>"Not a whole body paint, just..." he kissed Coby's forehead. "Y'know, something to show off your work, a mark I can wear with pride to announce to the world who my amazing boyfriend is."<br/>"Fine fine. Sit down."</p><p><br/>Coby pulled out his paints and brushes and quickly, yet skillfully painted a thin circle of gold on the back of Helmeppo's hand, not quite sure what he was creating yet, making it up as he went. He filled that circle in with silvery grey and used the finer tipped brush to place sky-blue marks along the outer rim. He would’ve taken out the airbrush, but time was running out and he wanted to give it a chance to set properly. With black and white he carefully drew the Yin-Yang sign overtop most of the silvery background, a small smile on his face, then pulled back and set his paints aside. Helmeppo stared down at the still-amazingly detailed work, even with it being such a small area to work with. No gloves today. He fully planned on showing off Coby's work.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Haha this one was really fun to write! Hope you enjoyed it!</p><p>Side note, I’m in a mood, so the next few chapter will probably be super sappy or something. Like... worse than my normal stuff.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Because I Care</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Helmeppo's in terrible shape. Coby is determined to be the one to take care of HIM for a change.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Trigger Warning: Drugs</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A knock on the door was what woke Coby. He groaned and reluctantly got out of bed, finger-combing his hair back and straightening his shirt, more than anything trying <em>not</em> to look like he’d just woken up. He cleared his throat, then walked over and opened the front door. <em>I swear, if it’s some lost pizza delivery guy again, I’m going to lose it. That’ll be the third time this WEEK.</em></p><p>Coby wished it had been a lost pizza delivery guy. In annoyance, he flung the door open. Instead of a pizza guy, what he was met with was Helmeppo, shivering, cuts marking his cheek, blood soaking the torn white fabric of his shirt. His visor was resting lopsided on his forehead. Something about the look in his eyes wasn’t right either. Vaguely glazed over, Coby noticed. Dull, like he wasn’t quite aware of his surroundings. Alarm flashed through Coby. Coby didn’t say anything. He could only stare in shock, blinking, trying to process what could’ve happened. Helmeppo usually dealt with whatever problems he had on his own. It had been a long time since he’d showed up at Coby's door. Helmeppo dared not speak, nor was he in any shape to be forming solid thoughts, and so remained silent, swaying in place as if he were dizzy. Coby lunged forward to grab his arm, and Helmeppo took a shaky step back at the sudden motion. The intensity and alarm in Coby's eyes was almost too much. He’d never been afraid of sudden movement, but it unnerved him now, and he felt dizzy and off-balance, he couldn’t form thoughts he could hold onto, he couldn’t even make it all the way back to his house and he knew it. He shuffled forward and Coby took his arm, pulling him inside and closing the door behind him. Coby rushed to the bathroom for the first-kit, then returned and threw it open, pulling out disinfectants and bandages, and wet a cloth with his water bottle, gently dabbing away the blood on Helmeppo's cheek. <em>Something <b>DEFINITELY</b> isn’t right about his eyes...</em></p><p><br/>"Helmeppo...what happened to you?"<br/>Helmeppo shook his head as Coby pulled the cloth away. "I...sorry. I should’ve tried to make it home, but it was too far. I...I didn’t know where else to go."<br/>"No no no! It’s okay, I promise. You’re always welcome. Talk to me, what’s going on?" Coby carefully applied the disinfectant. "You were attacked or something?"<br/>Helmeppo shuddered. "Yeah. I-I dunno who they were. Three of 'em. Jumped me j-just a couple blocks from here. No idea why. I don’t have anything they wanted."<br/>"They hurt you. They cut you up..." Coby bit his lip. "Why would someone do that?"<br/>Now that it had been brought up, all the wounds stung all over again. "I-I have no idea, Coby. I really don’t. I just...just..." he slumped back against the couch Coby had eased him onto.<br/>"That’s why you flinched when I grabbed your arm. Sudden movement?"<br/>"Yeah."<br/>"Sorry. I...I didn’t mean to freak you out."<br/>"I-It's not your fault. Y-You didn’t know."<br/>"Shirt off, I need to clean the arm wounds. Did they hurt you anywhere else?"<br/>"Not physically."<br/>"Mentally?"<br/>"Traumatized. I’ll recover. They...They came up from behind and attacked, and they...they..." he trailed off again.<br/>"They what, Helmeppo? What did they do?"<br/><br/>A foggy look crossed Helmeppo's eyes, then passed. "I remember...I remember something else happened, but I d-don't remember how exactly." He pulled off his shirt, both wincing at the sting and relieved by the cool touch of the water and cream.</p><p>"What happened?"<br/>"They managed to..."<br/>"You came here dizzy and looking a bit...off." Coby wrapped a thin bandage around one of the larger cuts. "Did they drug you or something? Make you an easier target?"</p><p>Helmeppo didn’t want to admit it. It was the <b>LAST</b> thing he wanted, in fact, but Coby was only trying to help. "Yeah. About half an hour ago. The worst has worn off. At least I know where I am and the world isn’t spinning constantly. I don’t feel... <em>as</em> weak as I did before."</p><p>"God..." Coby shook his head. He started on the other arm, pulling himself up to sit on the couch too. "I should’ve been there to help."<br/>"I’m glad you weren’t. You would’ve gotten hurt too."<br/>"Maybe. Or maybe we could’ve fought them off."<br/>"They were big, strong guys, Coby... I couldn’t even take <em>one</em> of them."<br/>Coby tied off the bandage and packed the remaining supplies into the kit again. "Stay here tonight, okay? I am <em>not</em> sending you home while those guys are still around, and I’m <em>definitely</em> not sending you home drugged."<br/>"Coby-"<br/>"No arguing."<br/>"But-"<br/>"I’m taking care of you, and that’s that."<br/>Helmeppo knew from experience that it was futile to resist. His shoulders slumped. "Okay okay..."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo mumbled the words grumpily, reluctantly, pouting, but there was a tiny little piece of him deep down that was maybe just a liiiiittle happy. Letting Coby take care of him wasn't <em>that</em> bad, right? <em>Dammit...I knew I liked him, and this isn’t helping...</em> Coby reached up to comb his slender fingers through Helmeppo's long hair, brushing strands away from his face and frowning at the lightly blood-tipped ones. He shook his head slowly. <em>They really did a number on him back there, huh?</em></p><p><br/>"C'mon, let’s get you to the bathroom, so you can take a bath, Helmeppo. Wash the last of that blood off. It’s even staining your hair..."<br/>"But you just put the bandages and creams on."<br/>"Leave it for a few minutes then. Just long enough for the cream to do its work. Water and soap will be more effective than bandages and creams anyway."<br/>"You’re really going to go overboard on this whole taking care of me thing, Coby."<br/>"Yes, yes I am, and we both know it." Coby checked his friend's temperature. "How’re you feeling after the whole being drugged thing? That can’t have been pleasant."<br/>"You don’t need to ask every five minutes." Helmeppo sighed though. "More or less okay. Better than earlier, when I could barely see. I had super bad vertigo and a headache. Sluggish and slow, I couldn’t even defend myself. I’m better now. Less disoriented."<br/>"They gave you some strong stuff, huh?"</p><p><br/>"Well I think they might’ve been trying to kill me, so yeah."<br/>"Then why didn’t they kill you, if you weren’t able to move?"<br/>"I did what I know how to do best in that kind of situation. I let myself collapse and played dead until they got bored and wandered off."<br/>Coby ran his fingers lightly over a bruise on Helmeppo's abdomen. "It’s not fair they attacked you. You’re too good to have deserved something like that." He sighed. "Well, let’s get you that bath, huh? Then we can get some food into you, help shake the drugs, and set you up to sleep."<br/>"Coby, you really don’t have to worry about taking care of-"<br/>"Yes I do, because I’m your best friend and I love you too much to put you at risk. Now come on."<br/>___________</p><p><br/>Being able to take a bath and soak the injuries was nice. The blood had already been mostly cleared, and the water stung a bit, but Coby had been right. It was soothing once he got used to the sting, and soap and water would act as a better and more natural disinfectant than any creams. Coby had absolutely *insisted* that he add rose scented bubble bath 'just for extra effect' too, even after Helmeppo had told him he wasn’t sure it was a good idea if the goal was to get stuff <em>out</em> of the wounds.</p><p>Finally, Helmeppo drew himself out of the bath and drained it, towelling off and changing into fresh clothes Coby had laid out for him, a plain white t-shirt and loose pants, or rather, pants that would be loose on Coby's figure, much slimmer and shorter than Helmeppo, and Helmeppo just barely managed to fit himself into the clothes provided. He finger-combed his hair back into place, savouring the cool of the damp strands. Still a bit dizzy, but better than before, he stepped out of the bathroom and into the hallway. Coby was humming from down the hall, a light tune he thought no one could hear. He didn’t notice when Helmeppo came down the hallway to the kitchen, where Coby had set out food for them despite the late hour, and was surveying his work. He didn’t notice Helmeppo's presence until strong arms wrapped around his waist from behind. Then he turned and kissed his friend's uninjured cheek, tugging on his arm to yank him down into one of the seats and sitting opposite him.</p><p><br/>"Come on, have some food. Putting something else in your body will help flush the worst of the drugs."</p><p><br/>Coby himself didn’t eat much, he’d had a good dinner a few hours before he’d first gone to sleep. The meal was simple, just pasta he’d found a box of in the cupboard. Simple and light, yet it was still something. He had also set up the couch with pillows and blankets to make it as comfortable as possible for his friend, and after eating, led him into the living room to get him settled.</p><p><br/>"I’m just down the hall, okay? If you need me, just call."<br/>"Coby?"<br/>"What’s up?"<br/>"Thank you. For everything." Helmeppo hugged him tightly, burying his face against Coby's shoulder. "I’ll pay you back one day, I promise."<br/>"You do every day, by being here for me, by dealing with me, by supporting me. I wouldn’t ask for anything else."<br/>"Why the hell are you so sweet?"<br/>"That’s just me being me..."<br/>"Then keep being you."<br/>"You feeling any better?"<br/>"A bit, yeah. I can think straight."<br/>"It’s a start. Now go to sleep." Coby kissed his cheek. "Mmmm...you smell nice." He nuzzled against his friend.<br/>Helmeppo wrapped an arm around Coby's shoulders, breathing in his friend's warmth. "Then come here." He drew the rosette closer.<br/>"No no no...you need to sleep." Coby gently pushed him away.<br/>"I know, but-"<br/>"No buts. Go to sleep."<br/>___________</p><p><br/>The next morning was better. Helmeppo woke feeling <em>far</em> more clear-headed. The wounds still stung, but not nearly as much. Coby was already up, stepping into the room with plates of bacon and eggs and passing one to Helmeppo, offering a smile that already made the day brighter.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Tease</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby is a liiiiittle possessive, and Helmeppo's on the receiving end. Coby's having fun with this.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Really short one, but I’m in D&amp;D as I write this, and it’s just got me in a goofy mood. Also, content warning: Focused on suggestiveness, no actual description, mostly dialogue and Coby being a jackass about things.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Helmeppo was for once away from his dorky boyfriend, talking instead to a pair of coworkers. This made Coby...not very happy. Not that he was <em>trying</em> to be possessive or anything, but he couldn’t help but be just a little worried as time passed. Helmeppo had become more and more awkward, and more distant, which worried Coby, and besides! That meant Coby was being ignored! That meant he could mope, or he could force Helmeppo to pay attention to him again. He quickly decided on the latter. So he half hid behind a wall and watched in silence, grinning.</p><p><br/>"You know what I really want to do?" Helmeppo was asking.<br/>"What’s that?" Pressed a coworker. The officer's gaze shifted briefly beyond Helmeppo to catch Coby's eye, and being stared at made him...more than a little nervous. Coby put a finger to his lips.<br/>Helmeppo shifted his weight to his back leg. "I really want to-" he staggered forward a couple steps as a rubber ball hit him in the back of the head before bouncing off. He whirled around towards wherever it had come from. "<b><em>FUCK YOU!</em></b>"</p><p>Coby grinned. "<em>Success</em>!"<br/>Helmeppo froze when he caught Coby's grin. "Oh <em>fuck</em>. No wait, that’s not what I meant!" His face heated up.<br/>Coby skipped over and reached up to kiss his companion's cheek. "Are you suuuure?"</p><p>The officer who had been speaking to Helmeppo snorted back laughter. "I’ll leave you two be. Sounds like you need your privacy."</p><p>Helmeppo stared back at the officer. "Um, help???" He glared at Coby. "Do <em>not</em> take that literally."<br/>Coby pouted, looping his arms around Helmeppo's neck lightly. "You sure? <em>You're</em> the one who said it, not me."<br/>"What were you <em>expecting</em>?"<br/>"Give me attention."<br/>"Jeez Coby..." However, he wrapped his arms around Coby's waist and kissed his forehead. "Better?"<br/>Coby beamed. "Better. Now are you gonna do it, or what?"<br/>"Do what? What’re you- <b><em>OH HEY</em></b>!"<br/>Coby laughed, burying his head against Helmeppo's chest. "It’s <em>hilarious</em> to see you all flustered!" Maybe it wasn’t his usual style, but having a good tease here and there never hurt anyone!<br/>"I hate you."<br/>"No you don’t. You love me. Riiiiiight?" Coby stared up at him with a tentative smile.<br/>"Do <em>not</em> pull that card on me, Coby."<br/>"I’ll always pull <em>all</em> my cards."<br/>"Fuck you."<br/>"Yes please."<br/>"<em><b>COBY</b></em>!"<br/>Coby pulled back, wiping tears from his eyes from having laughed too hard. "I regret nothing."<br/>Helmeppo smirked, stepping forward to pin Coby against the wall. "Push me again and maybe I <em>will</em>, cheeky jackass."<br/>Coby's heart pounded. However, his smirk did not falter. "Maybe. If this's your attempt at intimidation, it’s not going to work."<br/>The blond cupped Coby's cheek, stroking the younger boy's soft skin. "Dammit, Coby. You really <em>are</em> being an ass."<br/>"<em>Am</em> I?" Coby reached forward and grabbed Helmeppo's collar, pulling him closer. "Kiss me and I’ll quit being a jerk, then."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo leaned in and kissed him softly, pressing close to his partner, cupping the back of Coby's neck to tilt his head up to allow him to more easily lean into it, which he did, gladly. Then the kiss ended and the two young men separated again, Helmeppo's earlier frustration having simply melted away in the tenderness of the kiss, and leaving Coby breathless and beaming.</p><p><br/>"Now no more kidding around," Helmeppo insisted, kissing Coby's forehead.<br/>Coby raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smirk. "Who said I was kidding?" He kissed his boyfriend's cheek, then brushed past him, heading off back towards the barracks.<br/>"Huh?" Helmeppo watched him go with a blank, stare, then started after him. "Hey!"<br/>Coby glanced over his shoulder with a grin. "Come get me!"</p><p><br/>With that, Coby took off, laughing. He’d almost made it to the barracks when he let his guard down and ended up looking over his shoulder to see how much distance he’d put between them...but <em>what</em> distance? In the moment he slowed, Helmeppo ended up crashing into him, taking them both to the ground, where they landed in the grass. Coby yelped and hit the ground rolling, disoriented, a bit dizzy. He shook it off, only for Helmeppo to end up hovering just inches over him. Coby smirked.</p><p><br/>"Kinda cliche, don’t you think?" He asked, raising his gaze to his partner's.<br/>"You idiot." Helmeppo leaned down and pecked Coby's lips.<br/>"Mmmm. Maybe." Coby wound his arms around his partner. "I love you."<br/>"I love you too, but <b><em>stop</em></b> being an ass."<br/>"Okay okay, I promise! For real this time. Lemme up."<br/>"No."<br/>"Huh?"<br/>"Relax."<br/>"But-"<br/>"Coby."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo kissed him firmly, pressing him into the grass. Coby closed his eyes and leaned into it. That was how it was for a long time, laying in the grass as the sun went down and darkness fell, happily pressed against each other, warm despite the chill in the air, arms wrapped around each other tightly, exchanging kisses, sometimes soft and gentle, others firm, pressing each other down. Finally Coby reached up to kiss him softly, his touch feather-light and took his hand, fingers laced together.</p><p><br/>"Can we go inside? We'll get in trouble if we're out after curfew."<br/>Helmeppo nodded and pulled him to his feet. "Yeah, let’s go." He ruffled Coby's hair.<br/>"I love you."<br/>"I love you too."<br/>"Come on." Helmeppo wrapped his arm around Coby's shoulders firmly and led him back inside.<br/>_____________</p><p><br/>Had slid off his jacket and changed into his shorts and white shirt for the night. Exhaustion dragged at his body. Since they had their day off the following day, they could afford to sleep in. Coby walked over to yank the thin curtains closed. Arms encircled his waist from behind as Helmeppo hugged him and pressed a gentle kiss to his nape. Coby stopped moving, savouring the kiss. He closed the blinds and leaned back against Helmeppo, nestling his head against his shoulder and closing his eyes.</p><p><br/>"Tired?" Helmeppo guessed, chuckling.<br/>"Yes..." Coby reached up to kiss Helmeppo's cheek. "I’m asleep on my feet..."<br/>"Let’s get you to bed." Helmeppo guided him over to lay down and pulled the covers over his companion. "I know I’ve said it a lot today-"<br/>"It’s either 'stop being a jackass' in which case, <em>no</em>, or you love me. I love you too, and don’t you ever <em>dare</em> forget it." Coby grabbed Helmeppo's arm and pulled him down. "Stay? Please?"<br/>Helmeppo lay down next to him and wrapped his arms around Coby from behind, gently kissing his shoulder, his neck, his nape, his shoulderblades. "Anything for you."<br/>Coby smiled softly at this. "Aaaaanything?"<br/>"Anything."<br/>"Then... just promise to hold me tonight. <em>All</em> night. I want to wake up next to you."<br/>Helmeppo lightly kissed the side of his boyfriend's neck, watching the look on contentment on Coby's face as the younger boy relaxed. "Always. I’ll hold you forever."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Vacation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby planned a surprise vacation and it turned out to be the most brilliant vacation they’ll ever share.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Come <b><em>ON</em></b>!" Coby insisted, pushing on Helmeppo's shoulders to try and push him forward. "Stop trying to run away and pack already!"<br/>"Coby-"<br/>"No, I told you! We’ve both been working <em>way</em> too long, and now we have a week off, so we're going on vacation!"<br/>"Yes, I <em>know</em>. I heard you the first ten times. Did you <em>really</em> have to plan for things to be so...all out though?"<br/>Coby straightened and crossed his arms, pouting. "Yes. Deal with it. You know how I am."<br/>Helmeppo sighed and ran his hand through his long blond hair. "Yes, yes I do," he agreed. "You drive me insane."<br/>Coby grinned. "But you love me."<br/>"Shut up, idiot..."<br/>Coby stretched up to kiss Helmeppo's cheek. "We both know you do."<br/>Helmeppo's face tinted with pink. "Yeah..." he ruffled Coby's hair.<br/>"So? You gonna work with me so we can make this work?" Coby pressed. "It'll be fun, I promise!"<br/>"Stupid..."<br/>"Not stupid. Fun!"<br/>"Coby, I know you were trying to be sweet and all, but you still should’ve talked to me before planning a stay-away vacation."</p><p>Coby's shoulders slumped. He dropped his gaze and immediately Helmeppo felt bad. Coby didn’t look up to see the regret on his face though. "I’m sorry, I know. You know how I am, I’m impulsive, and I know you procrastinate on stuff sometimes and I didn’t want that to happen when we have this opportunity." He bit his lip. "Are- Are you mad at me?"</p><p>Helmeppo kissed the top of the rosette's head. "No, I’m not mad."<br/>"Promise?"<br/>"I promise."<br/>"Then pack."<br/>"Why you little-"<br/>Coby chuckled, reaching up to peck him on the lips. "No insults."</p><p><br/>Perhaps a bit grudgingly, but still smiling from the kiss, Helmeppo caved. Soon enough they were both packed and headed for the airport.<br/>__________________</p><p><br/>"Coby." Helmeppo gently shook Coby's shoulder, but the boy did not stir from where he slept, head having slumped against the window of the airplane. "Coby wake up, we're here."</p><p>Coby slowly blinked open his eyes, squinting against the sunlight coming from outside. "So bright..." he closed his eyes again. "I’m tired..."<br/>"You were up all night finalizing details, weren’t you?" Helmeppo guessed.<br/>"No..."<br/>"Liar. I know you, Coby."<br/>Coby opened his eyes and smiled sheepishly. "Okay okay, maybe a <em>little</em>..."<br/>"You either were, or you weren’t."<br/>"Fiiiiine, I was, and now I’m paying the price for it, but i-it’ll be worth it."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo retrieved their bags from overhead and strapped Coby's onto his own, carrying that with one hand and using his other to wrap his arm around Coby's waist and lift him up to rest over his shoulder. Perhaps not the most graceful way of carrying him, but he only had one hand, and Coby was only going to fall asleep again no matter what. It wasn’t like he would care.</p><p>As Helmeppo had expected, Coby just flopped over his shoulder and fell asleep again. This was expected, especially after an all-nighter. Helmeppo didn’t bother to wake him up, just carried him to the hotel. Coby's vacation notes had fallen out of his pocket, and being the little snoop he was, Helmeppo had skimmed it. According to Coby's notes, he'd thought it’d be fun to go to the peach and take a picnic dinner. Given the fact the noise, the light, and the jostling as Helmeppo walked hadn’t woken Coby in the least, Helmeppo doubted that was a good idea, and he’d seen grumpy Coby when he was woken up, and did not want to be on the receiving end. So he carried him up to the room they had rented and lay him down on the bed, pulling the covers up. Coby sank into the mattress and the corner of his lip turned up in a relaxed smile. Helmeppo lay next to him and wrapped his arms around the shorter boy's midsection, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to his nape. Coby opened one eye and smiled to himself. Then he closed that eye again. If Helmeppo knew he was awake, he’d insist they do something, and Coby was all for doing something, but he <em>was</em> tired...and just laying there with his partner's arms around him was more than a little nice. Helmeppo didn’t miss it though, the slight tensing of Coby's shoulders and the way the younger boy shifted his weight, the shift in his breathing pattern, even though at that point, Coby was trying his best to pretend he was still asleep so the moment wouldn’t have to end. Helmeppo reached forward to kiss Coby's cheek.</p><p><br/>"I know you’re awake, mister," he chuckled.<br/>"No I'm not."<br/>"Yes you are, or you wouldn’t be able to answer."<br/>"How do you know I'm not sleep-talking?"<br/>"What, you’re <em>soooo</em> good at it you can argue in your sleep now?"<br/>"That's right." Coby inclined his head toward his chest to hide his smirk.<br/>"Oh my god, you’re adorable."<br/>"No I'm not..."<br/>"Then what are you?"<br/>"Manly."<br/>"Manly? You? This tiny little squirt? C'mon, Coby. You’re an oversized teddy bear."<br/>"I am not!"<br/>"Yes you are."<br/>"No! I’m manly as fuck!" Coby rolled over to face Helmeppo and held out his arms. "Now hug me."</p><p>"I've been dating you for two years and somehow, whenever you hit the point where I think you just can’t get any cuter, you find a way to."<br/>"Hug me. That’s an order."<br/>"We're taking a vacation to get <em>away</em> from work, Cobes."<br/>"You <em>want</em> to hug me anyway, riiiight?" Coby stared up at him, smiling tentatively. An adoring, hopeful stare.<br/>"Quit with the eyes!" Helmeppo wrapped his arms tightly around his lover and pulled him against his chest, kissing the rosette's forehead.<br/>"No," Coby mumbled, voice muffled by Helmeppo's shirt.<br/>"Why?"<br/>"Because it’s fun to mess with you."<br/>"Fuck you."<br/>Coby smirked, kissing the blond's collarbone before settling against his chest again. "Who knows? One of these days, maybe you will," he quipped.<br/>"<b><em>COBY</em></b>!"<br/>Coby tried his best not to laugh. "I’m asleep, remember? I say weird stuff..."<br/>"You’re not asleep and we both know it. You said that completely consciously. Are you <em>trying</em> to piss me off? Have a comeback for absolutely <em>everything</em>?"<br/>Coby shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe."<br/>"I’m not sure whether I love or hate you right now, or both."<br/>"Both."<br/>"Both is good."<br/>__________________</p><p><br/>The next day, they had their picnic lunch on the beach, and while Helmeppo was more than happy to relax, Coby ran around chasing the seagulls, laughing, and trying to jump over the tiny waves that rolled in at the shore, squeaking whenever one hit him, like he was still five. One wave knocked him over and send him into the drink. He quickly got up and shook his mop of wet hair out of his face though, brushing it back and frowning as he rung out his bandana and went back to search in the wet sand for his glasses. Helmeppo was fine to just sit there watch Coby's dark eyes light up, a smile spread across his face. Then Coby was enthusiastically waving him over. Helmeppo, having no logical argument, obliged him. They sat there making sand castles. Or rather, Coby did. While Coby built an elaborate sand castle about two hands high and carved into it with the edge of a seashell he placed on top as the flag, Helmeppo had taken a pink plastic shovel and...dug a giant hole. Coby looked proudly at his little castle, then looked over to see how Helmeppo was doing with his hole/sand castle.</p><p><br/>"Um...Helmeppo?"<br/>Helmeppo paused. "Yeah?"<br/>Coby pointed at the hole. "That’s not a sand castle."<br/>"It <em>isn’t</em>?!?" The man stared at him in mock and exaggerated horror.<br/>Coby fixed him with a hard stare. "Tell me you’re kidding."<br/>"If it isn’t a sand castle, this what is it?" Helmeppo tried his best to straight-face it, but seeing the laughter in Coby's eyes, straight-facing was just about the hardest thing he’d ever done.</p><p>"That’s a hole."<br/>"It is?!?"<br/>"<em>Yes</em>, Helmeppo."<br/>"It is <em>not</em>! This is the finest sand castle I've ever built, thank you very much!"<br/>Coby pursed his lips, trying not to laugh at his partner's stupidity/silliness. He wasn’t sure which yet. Maybe both. "Is it the <b><em>only</em></b> '<em>sand castle</em>' you’ve ever built?"<br/>"...Maybe."<br/>"Helmeppo, you’re not stupid."<br/>"After seeing me call a hole a sand castle, I thought you’d disagree."<br/>"So you <em>do</em> admit it's a hole!"<br/>"I never said that!"<br/>"Yes you did!"</p><p><br/>Seeing Coby's laughter made it worth looking like an absolute idiot. Coby lit up, pointing at him, jumping up and...well the *goal* was to hug him, but Helmeppo turned at the wrong moment and on impact...they both fell into the hole. Coby squeaked in surprise as they toppled. He sat upright again, shaking grains of sand from his hair, and proceeding to have minimal progress in un-sanding his hair, and ended up with his glasses falling across his face, hanging lopsided across his eyes, which made him dizzy. Helmeppo chuckled and pushed the glasses back up to rest on the bandana, reaching up to finger-comb grains of sand from Coby's light pink hair. Coby pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, but didn’t argue. For all his pouting, the fact he stayed where he was and didn’t stop him told Helmeppo that Coby didn’t <em>totally</em> hate it. Helmeppo smirked to himself. <em>Attention hog.</em></p><p><br/>"Hey Coby?" Helmeppo started. Coby raised his eyes to meet Helmeppo's, so the blond continued. "You were right. You win. It’s fun."<br/>Coby lit up and Helmeppo braced himself for the <em>I-told-you-so</em> that was sure to follow...and it did. "See? See! I <em>told</em> you so! I told you it’d be fun, and <em>you</em> didn’t believe me!" He rocked back and forth on his heels, digging himself out of the sand.<br/>"Coby, hold still or I can’t get the sand out!"</p><p><br/>Helmeppo followed him, digging himself out of the hole, but by that point, Coby had pulled off his glasses and shaken the rest of the sand out of his hair, leaving the pink locks flopping across his face and the orangish-yellow bandana now hanging loosely around his neck, but he was smiling.</p><p>Helmeppo brushed the shorter boy's hair back into place despite Coby's halfhearted protests. The bright smile didn’t really match those protests. They abandoned the hole, though Coby insisted on snatching the seashell flag from his sand castle before it would- unfortunately- get washed away. Helmeppo gathered up their stuff while Coby tried to wring the water out of the whitish grey shirt that was now plastered to his chest from when he had fallen over. He itched. Salt water, sand, and skin. <em><b>Not</b></em> the ideal mix. When they returned to the hotel, he showered, glad to be able to rinse the salt off and be rid of the last of the sand, and refused to get out- even with Helmeppo calling for him- until he was <em>sure</em> every grain of sand was gone. Then he dressed in a fresh shirt, dark blue, and fresh pants, brushed his hair back into place, though it was generally messy no matter <em>what</em> he did with it. Then he stepped back out into the main room, where Helmeppo was standing with his hands on his hips, carrying an unreadable expression. Helmeppo's heart did laps in his chest, butterflies made his skin tingle. Anxiety. Nervousness. Excitement. Hope. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Coby, kissing his forehead.</p><p><br/>"I need to talk to you."</p><p>Coby's smile faded. "Uh-oh. Is it about the shower? Sorry I took so long. Or...Or about the whole planning a trip without talking to you? Or-"<br/>"Coby."<br/>"What am I in trouble for?"<br/>"You’re not in trouble. Let's just say...I’ve been thinking for a couple months now, and...seeing the way you lit up when we were on the beach...I knew I’d made the right decision. I’m sure of myself."<br/>"What’re you talking about?"<br/>Helmeppo pulled back and took Coby's hands in his own. "I know I should be doing this properly, but I don’t...I didn’t make any extravagant plans, as much as I know you like them."<br/>"I like simple things too."<br/>"I know. You just appreciate whatever life throws at you. That’s why I hope this'll be enough. I may be rushing things, I’m not sure. It’s been more than two years now. You’ll turn twenty soon, so I know there’s still plenty of time, I don’t want you to make a rush decision, okay?"<br/>"Okay?" It took Coby a moment. His eyes flew open wide. "Oh my <em><b>god</b></em>! Are you...?"</p><p>"I am," Helmeppo agreed. "For more than two years, we’ve been in this relationship. For four years we’ve been fighting together, living through adventures together, being <em>there</em> for each other. I want to be there for you forever and live through adventure after adventure with you. I'll forever say those three words, but there are five more I’d like to say; Coby, will you marry me?"</p><p><br/>Coby knew from experience that Helmeppo was not a spontaneous speaker or actor. Everything he did or said was thought out. He had been thinking about this. Had planned what he was going to say. In fact, Coby would guess that Helmeppo had been thinking about it that day since they’d landed. Maybe even before. Months? He wasn’t so sure about that, but the look in the blond's eyes was serious. This was not a joke or an unfair prank. He was sincere. <em>He wants to marry me. He wants me to marry him. Oh my <b>GOD</b>...</em></p><p>Coby had suspected this was what had been coming. When Helmeppo had started talking, nervous, voice more rushed than normal, refusing to meet his eyes, Coby had suspected. Helmeppo was normally confident in himself, so that change coupled with his words and phrasing... However, that didn’t prepare Coby <em>at all</em> for the butterflies, for the pounding heart and catching breath, or the way his spirits lifted like never before. He threw his arms around his partner and buried his head against Helmeppo's shoulder. Helmeppo had said he didn’t want Coby to make a rushed decision, but Coby knew that although he answered quickly, for once it was not an impulse. It wasn’t a matter of excitement in the moment. Deep down in his heart, when he’d heard the words, he knew the answer.</p><p><br/>"Yes!"<br/>"Think about it. Don’t make an impulse decision on something this big, Cobes."<br/>Coby shook his head, pulling back, tears forming in his eyes. He raised an arm to wipe them away with his sleeve. "No no no. It’s not an impulse. As soon as you asked, I knew."</p><p><br/>Coby beamed up at him. <em>This became one hell of a vacation</em>. The most rewarding part wasn’t just that he was engaged. The most rewarding parts were the fact he was engaged to <em>Helmeppo</em>, whom he had loved more and more with each day that went by, and also the way Helmeppo's dark eyes lit up, shining with all the light of the stars. Coby wrapped his arms tightly around the blond and nestled his head against Helmeppo's chest as the taller man drew him closer, cupping the back of his head.</p><p><br/>"I love you, Coby."<br/>Coby looked up. "I love you too."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo cupped Coby's chin and leaned in. Coby moved forward to meet him, and for a long moment, not for the first time and most certainly not for the last, they shared a kiss. Coby set his hands firmly on his partner's shoulders while Helmeppo's arms encircled Coby's waist, and through it, Coby smiled.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Heart-Stop</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Coby learns that anything can happen to anyone.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I did my best as far as research, hopefully I did okay. I apologize if it's a bit cringy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey...you holding up okay?" Helmeppo turned his gaze to Coby, who had been...a bit off since their last assignment.<br/>"Yeah...yeah, I’m fine." Coby offered a tense smile. "Why? What’s up?"<br/>"Just...you’ve been quiet and stressed since last time."<br/>"Just tired." Coby shrugged and rolled his shoulders back. His chest felt tight, achy. "I just..." he shook his head. "I’m fine."<br/>"Okay then..." Helmeppo trailed off. "So...you gonna be good enough for this one?"<br/>"It’s just another day at work. Just another stupid assignment. I’m okay."<br/>Helmeppo frowned. "Stupid assignment? You sound bitter. I thought you <em>liked</em> your work. Isn’t being a Marine your dream?"<br/>"Yes, of course!" Coby promised. "I’m just...look, I’m tired, I don’t have the energy for this."<br/>"This conversation, or the assignment?"<br/>"Both."<br/>"Coby, it’s gonna get hectic."<br/>Coby squared his shoulders, his expression shifting from irritation to an odd mix of concern and certainty, a look Helmeppo had come to be suspicious of. "I know. Trust me, I know."<br/>"What did you do this time, Coby?"<br/>"Nothing-"<br/>"Coby."<br/>"...Yet."</p><p><br/><em>Oh wonderful..</em>. Helmeppo sighed, but there was nothing to be done about it. They had arrived. <em>Curse being part of an elite group...they only send the best on assignments like these, huh?</em> By the time Helmeppo drew himself back to his senses though, they had reached the shore. Coby was already off and on solid ground again, his tense, set jaw the only suggestion of tension, and oh so subtle, even to Helmeppo, who knew him better than anyone. This time, Coby was not to be the highest ranking officer. He didn’t call the shots, and had Coby <em>realized</em> that, Helmeppo would have been relieved. He did not.</p><p>Coby set the groups that <em>were</em> under his control to their pre-planned positions, but instead of taking up his own spot on the Rear-Admiral's orders, he turned to look over his shoulder at Helmeppo, meeting his eyes and grinning. Helmeppo lifted the visor to lock eyes with his friend, attempting to warn him off it silently. Coby being Coby, took the hard, fixed stare as encouragement instead. Helmeppo wanted to move, march over to him and try to knock some sense into his friend, but he did not move from where he stood, having already been placed with his group. <em>If Coby wants to run off and make drama, that’s fine. JUST fine. That’s his problem, not mine.</em> Unfortunately, that was <em>exactly</em> what Coby wanted to do. Coby fixed his eyes on the mass of pirates that had gathered close to a half destroyed building. <em>There's too many of them for us to fight like this. What, they’ve almost DOUBLED in numbers since the report first came out, but...</em></p><p>He eyed the crumbling, ancient building only feet behind them. Helmeppo saw what Coby was thinking a heartbeat too late, and made a few paces towards him, but Coby shot him a confident smile, a bright look lighting his eyes, then turned on his heel and ran <em>towards</em> their opponents, all on his own. Alarm rippled through Helmeppo. However, Coby had put too much distance between them. There was no point in going after him. Helmeppo could only watch as officers called for Coby to come back. A few went after him, and Helmeppo fought the urge to tell them not to bother. Once Coby had his mind made up, that was that. One of the things that Helmeppo both loved about him and was consistently infuriated by. He had fully expected that Coby could do it. The officers were ordered to engage in combat, regardless of what was going on with Coby, and reluctantly but left with no choice, Helmeppo followed. He should’ve paid better attention. He blocked an opponent's attack with one hand and narrowed his eyes when he just barely missed with his other, his large, bulky opponent drawing blood from a gash in his side, but he would not go down so easily. He wasn’t done yet. From across the clearing, there was a gasp. Helmeppo whirled around towards it, uncaring for the stab that his opponent delivered to his shoulder, and barely reacting but for a visible wince. He tore himself free and raced towards Coby, sheathing his knives.</p><p><br/>"Coby!"</p><p><br/>Helmeppo could do nothing but stare in horror as Coby gasped and crumpled, eyes rolling up in his head, his thin body hitting the ground below with a soft <b><em>THUD</em></b>. He had achieved his goal in the end though. Helmeppo hadn’t even noticed the commotion, but the majority of the half-destroyed building had come down. Several of their foes had been trapped or buried underneath. More than Helmeppo would’ve liked to fight, easily five or six. Maybe more. *He did good. Damn...* Helmeppo knelt next to his friend and gently shook his shoulders. <em>I know the effort can tire you out, but this's no time to be napping.</em></p><p>Coby wasn’t napping. Distress was written on his face when Helmeppo rolled him onto his back. He didn’t react to the shaking. He didn’t look to be injured beyond a couple bruises from the debris, but when Helmeppo looked down at him, Coby's chest did not rise and fall from breath. Alarm shot through Helmeppo. He lay a finger under Coby's nose to check for breath, but there was none. His stomach churned. He pulled a glove off and unzipped Coby's jacket, laying his hand against his best friend's chest to check for a pulse.</p><p>There was none.</p><p> </p><p><br/>"He killed himself," Helmeppo breathed in shock. His shoulders slumped and arms fell limp at his sides. "He <em>killed</em> himself to ensure we’d win this one." He shook Coby roughly. "*HEY! Get the hell up!* You're not allowed to die on me, you hear? <em>MEDIC</em>! <em><b>NOW</b></em>!"</p><p>"What’s going on?" Demanded a passing officer, fending off an arrow shot towards him at the last second.<br/>"He’s dead! He’s not hurt, but he dropped dead out of nowhere!"<br/>"I’ll get a medic!" The man rushed off.</p><p><br/>Helmeppo didn’t know CPR. He vowed to learn it properly once they got back, but desperate times call for desperate measures. <em>It's not like I can make him <strong>more</strong> dead</em>. He reasoned. His mind worked overtime. How was he supposed to approach it? <em>The first thing would be to start his heart again, right?</em> Tentatively, he pushed on Coby's chest over the heart, then again, trying his best to create artificial pumping, try to prompt the boy's heart to start again. <em>Heart attack... he had a fucking heart attack... </em>No response. Then...a single beat, strong but brief, before falling still again. <em>It's better that nothing!</em></p><p><br/>"Come <em>on</em>, Coby! You’ve got to wake up! I’m here, okay? The building went down, help is coming, you’ll be okay, just look at me dammit..."</p><p><br/>Coby looked so still, his face ashen and tense, the look of distress that made Helmeppo feel sick to the stomach. It hadn’t been all of a sudden. Even if only for a split second before, there had been pain, and Coby had *known* that he was going down. It didn’t look natural, the look of shock. Pale lips parted just slightly, muscles and or ally tense. Weren’t a person's muscles supposed to *relax* when someone died? His eyes half lidded, only the white of the eye showing. *This isn’t right. What the hall happened?* Helmeppo didn’t have time to ponder it. A field medic arrived and nudged him out of the way and took charge of the situation, performing <em>proper</em> CPR. Helmeppo's heart pounded. He felt about as pale as Coby looked.</p><p><em>Coby's dead. Coby's <b>DEAD</b>!</em> He saw with both relief and concern the moment Coby gasped in a short sharp breath. The concern filtered back in when it was only the one before Coby fell still again. The medic nodded to a pair of officers who helped her carry the boy back into the medical tent. Helmeppo stared in stunned silence. It was cruel. <em>Twice</em> now Coby had *almost* been saved. Twice now he had slipped away again. It was terrifying. It was *cripplingly* terrifying, and had an opponent stumbled upon Helmeppo where he knelt, there would have been nothing Helmeppo could do to defend himself with his own shock and slow processing. An officer came and hauled him to his feet, and he stumbled after the officer listlessly, head fuzzy and vision blurry, mind unable to focus on the words the other man spoke. <em>Coby is with the medics, he’s in good hands and he'll be transferred to a proper doctor when we get home...if they can bring him back</em>. He reminded himself. Even so, having rounded up the surviving pirates and put them in chains, when the voyage back set off, it felt ten times as long as it had going there. He wanted to say something, <em>anything</em> to Coby, but Coby wasn’t there anymore. <em>Even if it’s just one more time...I want to hear his voice, and not just in my head. Just wait a little longer, Coby. We're almost there.</em><br/>_______</p><p><br/>Nothingness. That was the only way to describe the strange place. There was a great, huge <em>nothing</em> for as far as the eye could see. The absence of everything, light, sound, touch, smell, sight. No tension, not a scrap of pain. A freeing, drifting feeling, not being bound down to anyone or anything anymore. Then for a brief moment, a jolt of pain. The clinging to that nothingness. The nothing was far more welcome than pain. Then another. A choking sound, someone's voice calling out. Nope. Not today. More nothingness. Beautiful, blissful darkness. There was no sense of time in the nothingness, so who knew how long it lasted? Then a jolt of pain and a pale flicker of light, reddish golden, before blackness again. This time, the pain lingered.<br/>_________</p><p><br/>"Well, doctor? Can I...come see him?" Helmeppo asked hopefully. "He <em>is</em> alive, right?" His heart raced. <em>What if he died? What if they had to admit defeat and give up on him? I...I never got to say goodbye!</em><br/>"Yeah, come on in." The doctor waved him forward.<br/>Relief washed over Helmeppo. "So...how’s he doing?"</p><p>"Not so great. The past couple days we’ve gone a few tests. Based on severely accelerated heart rate, he suffered from cardiac arrest. As a youngster otherwise in relatively good health, this is quite surprising. Whatever he was doing just before, he was pushing himself too far for his body's limits, and he’s severely dehydrated on top of it all, which more than likely played into the problem as well. We performed CPR and managed to get his heart beating, get him in here in time to get his heart and lungs started again properly. His internal organs are functioning well now. He’s <em>very</em> lucky. In many cases, cardiac arrest is fatal."</p><p>"He...so was he really...?"<br/>"Dead? Yes and no. His body stopped functioning, but he couldn’t be classified as legally dead, as his mind was still active for a time. He'll likely have some form of brain damage that’ll need to be taken care of, and his body will be delicate for a while."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo finally turned his gaze to his friend, eager to see him, to know he was on his way to recovery, and yet dreading his pitiful the boy must look. Coby was laying still and silent as the grave on the bed, wrapped in thin sheets with an IV hooked to his arm. His eyes were closed properly now, and the boy didn’t look particularly at ease or peaceful, but his expression no longer screamed of shock and pain either. It was an improvement. A little colour had returned to his face, though not much, and he looked so much smaller and frailer than he ever had before. That was worrisome. He was so thin and still... <em>They're SURE he’s not still dead</em>? Helmeppo pulled up a chair at his bedside and reached over to take Coby's smaller hand, firmly squeezing it. As if that had triggered something, Coby's eyes snapped open. He gasped sharply, then descended into a coughing fit. When it finally passed, he stared around in confusion, <em>severely</em> disoriented. Bright lights. Chest pain. Difficulty getting his breath under control. <em>Did I dream it? No. Dreams don’t make you hurt. </em>His mind was sluggish, barely able to come to that conclusion. If not a dream, then what <em>had</em> happened? He had been in nothingness one minute and pain the next. He remembered the building coming down, a wrenching pain in his chest, then falling. Then nothing after.</p><p><br/>"<em><b>Whatthehellhappened</b></em>?" His words came out all at once, weak and panicked.<br/>"The sea gods are done with your impulsive bullshit," Helmeppo deadpanned.<br/>"<em><b>SEA GODS</b></em>?!?"</p><p>The doctor sighed. "You’ve undergone cardiac arrest, Coby. You’ll be okay with time and some monitoring, but you’ll need a little time off to recover," said the doctor.<br/>"Wait...my...my heart stopped?" Coby blinked in confusion, frowning. "I-I was <em>dead</em> for a while?"<br/>"Surely you felt the absence of life."<br/>"To be frank, I didn’t feel a whole lot of anything. I knew I was going down about two seconds before I did."<br/>"You’ll be okay. You’re in good hands now. Is there anything you need right now? I know it must be awfully scary and confusing right now."<br/>Coby sat up with Helmeppo’s help. Helmeppo came to sit next to him, propping Coby up against his shoulder. Coby slowly breathed out, nuzzling into his friend's soothing warmth. "Just...don’t make Helmeppo leave."</p><p>Helmeppo wrapped his arms around Coby's midsection. "If they tried to make me leave right now, they’d have to <em>drag</em> me out."<br/>The doctor nodded faintly. "Stay here with him, then. Coby, you must be hungry. I’ll grab you some food." Then the doctor turned and was gone.</p><p>Coby faced Helmeppo, his whole body trembling. "Helmeppo, is it true? Did...Did I actually <em>die</em> earlier? Am I some zombie?"<br/>"No! You’re alive now. Like he said, cardiac arrest, your heart and breathing stopped, but they fixed it. He said you were dehydrated and overexerting yourself too, you damn idiot..."<br/>Coby groaned, shoulders slumping, and closed his eyes to try and clear the brain fog away. "I know, I know, but...what was I <em>supposed</em> to do?"<br/>"You’re no good to me, to yourself, to the people, to the Marines, if you’re *dead!* Don't you ever, *ever* dare go and do that again, do you hear me?" Helmeppo rested his forehead against his friend's. "I thought I’d lost you."<br/>"I’m okay now. I’ll be okay."<br/>"I know, but that doesn’t make it any less scary to realize I came so close to <em>losing</em> you."<br/>"I promise, I’ll dehydrate better, get better sleep, and I won’t be an idiot anymore." Coby paused, frowning. "<em>Most</em> of the time."<br/>Helmeppo sighed in defeat, but a small smile graced his face nonetheless. "Good enough for me."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Salty Coffee</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Helmeppo finds out the hard way that Coby enjoys a prank every now and then.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay okay, so I hope you guys like this one. This is my absolute favourite one so far.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At home on their couple weeks off, Coby woke up <em>way</em> too early. He was bored. <em>Incredibly</em> bored. Helmeppo, on the other hand, slept in, and when he woke, Coby wasn’t there. Coby's side of the bed wasn’t even warm anymore. <em>He left some time ago. Guess it’s time to get up.</em> Helmeppo dressed and headed to the kitchen, where Coby was making pancakes and laying the plate on the table. He sent Helmeppo a bright smile. A little <em>too</em> bright. Both exaggerated yet genuine at the same time.</p><p>Helmeppo rolled his eyes and walked over though, gently kissing his boyfriend's cheek, a lazy, still-half-asleep kiss, but Coby still turned to lean into it with that bright, happy smile. Neither of them said anything. Coby went to the fridge to grab condiments for the pancakes. Syrups, jams, yogurt, canned and sliced peaches, and set them all out on the table, watching his partner from the corner of his eye. Helmeppo was still drowsy, barely able to deal with the dim light in the kitchen, the only reassurances that he was actually awake were the smell of the food, sweet and rich, and the lingering tingle on his lips from where he’d kissed Coby. Both very pleasant things to wake up to. Then the morning got even better when he noticed the other smell in the kitchen. Fresh, hot coffee. <em>I have the best boyfriend in the whole entire world.</em> He decided. He caught Coby's eye and Coby smiled, no longer the unnaturally chipper smile, but a more subtle one from the corner of his lip. Helmeppo poured them both their morning coffees. He had always been surprised that Coby liked his black. <em>Straight up bitterness from hell. To each their own</em>. Coby reached up to peck his cheek and took a small sip of the disgusting, yet energizing coffee and served out pancakes for them while Helmeppo went to add the usual sugar and milk to his drink before joining Coby at the table. Coby smiled sweetly. <em>Please don’t hate me</em>. Of course, he knew there was no way Helmeppo could ever <em>hate</em> him, or else he wouldn't take the risks he sometimes did, all in good fun though! Hoooowever, he knew Helmeppo used a ridiculous amount of sugar and milk, making the coffee barely even coffee anymore. <em>Would you like some coffee with that sugar?</em></p><p>Coby poured syrup on his pancakes and let his dark gaze rest unwaveringly on his boyfriend, trying his darnedest to keep a straight face, but it was difficult. Helmeppo didn’t trust that look. He didn’t trust it one bit. It meant Coby had something planned, for better or for worse. He’d been on the receiving end <em>way</em> too many times for his liking.<br/>Coby had told him it was weird oh so many times, but screw it. Helmeppo shook some salt onto the fruit salad Coby brought over. Helmeppo lifted his mug to his lips and took a big gulp off not-quite-coffee, only to choke on it and spit it out in alarm immediately. If nothing else, <em>that</em> woke him up quick, the unexpected and rather unpleasant taste of the usually pleasant enough coffee. The blond glared down at the mug, as if the mug had personally offended him. Then he registered Coby's laughter, violent snorts and almost hysterical guffawing, doubled over and biting his lip to try and shut himself up.</p><p><br/>"Oh my <em>god</em>, that was even better than I expected!"<br/>Helmeppo scowled. "<em><b>Salt</b></em>?"<br/>Coby wiped tears away from the corners of his eyes. "Your reactions to these things are absolutely <em>priceless</em>!"<br/>"If you put the salt in the sugar container..."<br/>"You got it. You’re gonna be bouncing off the walls all day. You just dumped like, half a cup of sugar in your salad." Coby beamed.<br/>"Is this why you suffer the coffee from hell? So you can pull these things off without making a fool of yourself too?"<br/>Coby slowly stood up, preparing to bolt. "Maaaaaaybe..."<br/>Helmeppo struggled to chug down his almost-unbearably salty coffee before shooting to his feet, because what is weakness? "I’m going to fucking <em>kill</em> you, Coby."<br/>"You’ve gotta <em>catch</em> me first!" Coby darted away down the hall.<br/>"Why you little-!"</p><p><br/>Helmeppo gave chase, though there wasn’t much room to run in the narrow hallways. Helmeppo stumbled, looking up to see Coby retreat to their room. Helmeppo shoved open the door and...Coby was gone. Helmeppo checked the closet. <em>Nope</em>. Coby wasn’t hiding under the covers unless he could suddenly become paper-thin, and even Coby wasn’t crazy enough to jump from a two story building.</p><p>Something hit the back of Helmeppo's leg. He whirled around. Coby was still making himself scarce though. He was hit again, balls of crumpled up paper pelting him, coming from <em>under</em> the bed. When Helmeppo dropped down to peer under the bed, one, he got poked right in the nose, then Coby rolled out from under the bed, snickering. Helmeppo stood up again, lunging forward and tackling Coby to the bed just a heartbeat before the boy would’ve been able to make yet another quick getaway. First Coby laughed in exhilaration and amusement, chest heaving with laboured, heavy breath. Then he was tackled roughly to the mattress and that laughter stopped abruptly. He stared up at Helmeppo with exaggerated and very mock fear when Helmeppo pulled himself over the shorter boy and pinned him down with a firm grip. Helmeppo stared down at him, hating that he found the look on Coby's face amusing, and that chasing him around had even been kind of <em>fun</em>. As if they were little kids again, making mischief while unsupervised. Not that he was ever going to admit it. Ever. Even more fun though was when he <em>won</em> their little game. Coby grinned, staring up at him, holding up his hands to push against his boyfriend's chest in a halfhearted attempt to shove him off, though there were wasn't much force behind it, and Helmeppo knew for a fact that Coby could be a hell of a lot stronger than that. He had been caught, he had lost their game of chase...and he was still just messing around.</p><p><br/>"Ahhh! You caught me!" Coby laughed. Then he shrank down against the mattress. "Please don’t hurt me..."<br/>"Why you little-"<br/>Coby reached up and pecked his lips, just a brief, feather-light kiss. "You know you love me, riiiiight?"<br/>"Damn right I do. Now hold still so I can give you your punishment."<br/>"Okay okay, jeez!"</p><p><br/>Helmeppo leaned down to firmly kiss his boyfriend, pressing him into the mattress. With one hand he cupped Coby's cheek, and with the other, he pinned Coby's wrists above his head, and he held the kiss until his lungs ached from the need for air. They broke the kiss, both gasping for breath, only for another to be initiated before Coby could recover himself properly. Not that he was about to complain. In fact, truth be told, he was quite enjoying this. Made it very worthwhile. His eyes closed and he didn’t fight when Helmeppo lowered himself overtop the shorter boy, pressing his whole weight down on Coby and crushing the air from his lungs. Helmeppo broke the kiss and released Coby's wrists.</p><p><br/>"There. Your punishment is complete. Have you learned your lesson?"<br/>Coby gasped for breath, chest heaving. "Yessir..." He grinned. "I should <em>definitely</em> do it more often!"<br/>"Hmmm..." Helmeppo traced his thumb over Coby's lower lip, smirking. "Maybe you <em>haven’t</em> learned your lesson."<br/>"Well then being the responsible adult you are, maybe you should teach me, make sure I pass the test," Coby quipped, grinning.<br/>"Maybe I <em>will</em>!"</p><p><br/>This time, Helmeppo lifted Coby up to sit on his lap and braced one hand against the back of his head and the other on his lower back. Coby wound his arms around his boyfriend's neck and pulled himself as close as possible, both of them lunging into the next kiss, not a long one this time, but a series of fervent, short ones, innocent and tender, Helmeppo insistently leaning in to Coby's eager touch. Finally Coby pulled back just enough to be half a centimetre away from his partner's lips.</p><p><br/>"I love you. Forgive me?"<br/>Helmeppo stole another brief kiss before pulling back. "Forgiven."<br/>Coby smiled that angelic smile that always made Helmeppo’s heart skip a beat. "And I promised I’ve learned my lesson now."<br/>"I should hope so." Helmeppo kissed Coby's forehead. "Because you passed the class with flying colours."<br/>"<em>God</em> you’re amazing...how’d I end up getting so damn lucky?"<br/>"Because you’re cute and smart and talented and it’s actually rather impressive."<br/>"How do you not get sick of me though? I keep pranking you and I may or may not have amassed a collection of birds in the past..."<br/>"I remember that. They flew all around the room and chirped at us 24/7."<br/>"Yes...it was rather relaxing. Why’d you let them out? Yes I <em>do</em> know it was you."<br/>"You can’t keep a dozen birds you know nothing about in our room, and besides, how am I supposed to kiss you if there’s inevitably someone always watching us? Even if they <em>were </em>just birds."<br/>Coby pretended to consider this, then nodded. "Your point is valid," he decided.<br/>"No more salty coffee, okay?"<br/>"May I just point out all <em><b>I</b></em> did was switch out sugar and salt. It was <em>you</em> who put it in your drink."<br/>"<em><b>Coby</b></em>-"<br/>"Okay okay, fine." Coby nestled his head against Helmeppo's shoulder comfortably. "I promise. I love you."<br/>Helmeppo hugged his boyfriend close. "I love you too."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Caretaker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby is saved by Helmeppo and is left quite fuzzy-headed. Helmeppo decides to take care of him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Honestly I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m half asleep today and just wrote a drabble. Hope you guys enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby turned, darting down the alleyway. He couldn’t fight anymore. He was bruised and worn down, bleeding. Yet there were three people still on his tail. He had to shake them or else he expected he’d be killed. Coby skidded to an abrupt halt to avoid running face first into a wall at the dead end. Wonderful. He looked over his shoulder. <em>Can I backtrack? No. Too late</em>. His pursuers' footsteps were growing in volume, and within only seconds they had rounded the corner too.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Reluctantly, shakily, Coby turned and pulled his fists up by his chin to guard his face and chest. He had always been one of the best in sparring, even armed only with his own body, but against <em>three</em> armed opponents? Unlikely. There was no talking. The man in the lead launched himself at Coby, who neatly sidestepped and threw a sharp kick to his knee, sending him stumbling back, but his two friends weren’t far behind. They picked up the battle quickly, and Coby found out the hard way that he could only dodge so long. He threw a couple punches, but his strength was dwindling steadily. He was dizzy and tired, and his head hurt like nothing else. Eventually, the leader recovered and struck at him, a slash of a dagger that sent Coby reeling. Blood appeared in a new gash on his arm. Not too severe, but certainly not ideal. He slumped to the ground with a groan when one of the men elbowed him in the solar plexus, stunning and winding him. He drew pained, shaky breaths, knowing he couldn’t afford to take his time, but feeling unable to move. His chest hurt. No, scrap that, </span>
  <span class="s1">
    <em>everything</em>
  </span>
  <span class="s1"> hurt. The flash of a knife caught his eye. He looked up with wide eyes as his leading attacker tightened his grip on his weapon.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>I'm going to die. After all my training and everything I’ve been through to make myself a great Marine, THIS is how I’m going to die. Pathetic. Nobody will even know that I’m gone. Nobody will know to miss me...</em> Coby realized with his heart sinking. He closed his eyes and let his shoulders slump, bracing himself for the killing blow. It never came. Instead, there was the harsh clang of metal against metal. Coby's eyes snapped open and he stared up at the familiar and more than welcome form of Helmeppo, standing protectively in front of him, blocking the attacking strike with his kukri. Coby's eyes lit up. <em>I'm alive! He... He saved me.</em></span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sure, he was sick and tired of having to be saved, but sometimes there was no choice but to rely on someone else, or die. Coby would much rather remain alive. Helmeppo forced the attacking man away, then he himself struck. Coby dragged himself to his feet again shakily, only to collapse again in his exhaustion. He could only watch in astonishment as Helmeppo took on all three at once. Injuries were delivered on both sides, worrying Coby, but the way Helmeppo fought, never tiring, angry, almost... territorial. Coby had never seen him quite so intense, and it was both frightening and just plain <em>hot</em>. Helmeppo did not verbally acknowledge Coby until two of the pirates had fled after their leader lay injured and bleeding on the ground a bit away from them. He wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon. Then Helmeppo knelt at Coby's side. He sheathed his kukri and glanced briefly over his shoulder at the injured attacker. <em>Maybe I overdid it. I got carried away...Coby's probably just as scared of me as he is of them.</em> He lamented, noticing how Coby flinched away from his touch when he set a gentle hand on the younger boy's arm.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Coby, hey. You okay?"</span>
</p><p class="p1">"I-I..." Coby trailed off. "I will be, thanks to you."</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"You flinched when I touched you. Are you...scared of me?"</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I’m scared in general. You saved me. I...I thought I was going to die."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I know, but I couldn’t let that happen. I’m sorry if I scared you. I got carried away. I hope...you won't judge me."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Of course not." Coby eyed him, fingers twitching in his lap.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"You sure about that?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby lunged, throwing himself forward, cupping his friend's face and pulling him into a kiss, firm and fervent. Then another. And another, tugging at his shoulders. Helmeppo stiffened, taken aback by the rather unexpected gestures of his companion. However, he wrapped his arms around Coby instinctively and leaned into it. Finally they had to break the kiss for air. Coby's hands lingered on his shoulders, and Helmeppo's stayed around Coby's waist.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"God dammit, I owe you everything. I owe you my very life, and you were so <em>hot</em> while protecting me... I’m so tempted to drag you into an intense makeout session."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Then why don’t you?" Helmeppo half joked.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby stood up, yanked him up as well. He leaned in close and pressed his lips to Helmeppo's firmly, his strength returned for a brief moment in time as adrenaline shot through his body. Helmeppo pulled him in closer, his grip tight. He loved the way Coby felt, warm and small in his arms, lips perfectly fitting against his own, moving slightly as Coby insistently kissed him, again and again, occasionally offering a gentle nip that Helmeppo savoured, then would return. Coby didn’t notice when he began to get carried away. He shrugged off his uniform jacket. His hands slipped from Helmeppo's shoulders to rove across the man's chest, tugging at his collar, pressing his body firmly against Helmeppo's and...moaning through the kiss, trying to deepen it, his whole body curving against his partner's, savouring his warmth, and unconsciously, as that adrenaline and desire for close contact filled him, he began slowly, gently grinding their hips together. Finally though, noticing this with a flicker of awkwardness, Helmeppo held Coby away from him, leaning in to kiss his forehead, but putting space between them.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Huh?" Coby blinked in confusion.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Helmeppo shook his head. "You’re losing yourself in the moment."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby lowered his gaze to where he gripped his friend's collar. "I...I'm sorry," he murmured. "I just...sorry."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Don’t be." Helmeppo gently kissed his lips again, a soft, tender touch.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby leaned into it for the moment it lasted. "I never told you I love you, did I?" He scooped up his jacket again and slid it back on. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Nope," Helmeppo agreed. "I love you too." He wrapped an arm around Coby's waist, helping support his weight as they made their way out of the alleyway. "Let’s get you home. Are you hurt?"</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"A bit. A gash on the arm and one in my gut."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Oh wonderful," Helmeppo groaned. "Time to visit the infirmary."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">__________</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2">After being bandaged and resting a while, until the doctor was content he was in decent enough condition to be on his own, Coby was sent to the mess hall for dinner. He didn’t have much of an appetite though and ended up only picking at his food.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"How’re you holding up? You've barely touched your food."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Now that the adrenaline's worn off, I’m acutely aware of the stupid injuries. Really annoying, and I just... I don’t have much of an appetite after everything today, and I’m so tired..."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Helmeppo's lips curved into a soft smile. "Give me that." He took the fork from Coby's hand scooped up some salad. "Open up, Coby."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Coby sighed, but opened his mouth, allowing his friend to feed him. More than anything because he knew Helmeppo was just going to insist if he refused, had he didn’t have the energy to argue. Helmeppo happily fed his exhausted friend, salad and stew, savoury and fresh, until it was all gone. Coby nestled against Helmeppo's shoulder comfortably.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Can I sleep here?" He mumbled.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"No, come on, let’s get you to bed." Helmeppo scooped him up. "Feel free to sleep. I’ve got you."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Helmeppo carried him to the bedroom and gently lay the half asleep boy down in bed, covering him up and pressing a gentle kiss to Coby's cheek. Coby clumsily grabbed his hand. Helmeppo paused was looked back at Coby, whose eyes were open again and fixed on him with a hopeful look on his face that just about made Helmeppo melt.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2">"Stay."</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Helmeppo slid Coby's glasses and bandana off. "You need rest."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I know. Just...stay and hold me. Please?"</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Helmeppo settled in next to him and slid his arms around his friend. "Okay okay, whatever works."</span>
</p><p class="p2">Coby closed his eyes and nestled himself comfortably against Helmeppo's taller frame. "This. I need this." He smiled softly. "Thanks. For everything."</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Of course. I love you."</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I love you too."</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Can't Do It</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The universe doesn’t like the idea of Coby kissing Helmeppo and it’s driving Coby mad.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this at 2 AM. Hopefully it’s decent.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Helmeppo, I need to talk to you!" Coby marched down the hall to catch up to his friend.</p><p>Helmeppo turned, raising an eyebrow. "Coby? What’s the matter?"</p><p>"Just...there’s something I ought to say." Coby slowed to walk next to him and gripped his arm. "Would you quit walking and actually look at me for a sec?"</p><p>Helmeppo stopped and turned to face him. "Okay. What’s up? You look bothered."</p><p>"No, I’m not bothered, per se. I just...figured it was high time I said something. Judge me if you want. L-Laugh at me if that’s what you want to do, but I'm...uh...boys. I...grey. No! Stupid stuttering!"</p><p>Helmeppo smirked. "You like boys? You’re trying to tell me you’re gay?"</p><p>"Yep, thanks! Okay, if you wanna laugh, now's the time for it. Go ahead."</p><p>Helmeppo ruffled Coby's hair. "Dork. I’ve known you're gay for <b><em>months</em></b>."</p><p>"What?!?"</p><p>"Your silly flowery bandana, the pink hair, the way you eye the attractive young men around us...if gay had a particular look, it’d be you."</p><p>"...Thanks." Coby took a deep breath. "Okay, and you don’t feel weird sharing a room with your best friend who likes boys?"</p><p>"Why should I?"</p><p><em>Perfect gateway.</em> Coby fought back the urge to run the fuck away. "Well...maybe because I-I might..." He averted his eyes, then shuffled forward. "I might...kind of..." he tilted his head up, forcing himself to look at his friend.</p><p>"Coby? You okay?"</p><p>Coby set his hands on Helmeppo's shoulders. <em>I don’t have to say anything if I just shut up and kiss him.</em> "I'm fine. Just... close your eyes for a sec, okay?"</p><p>Helmeppo did so, confusion flickering through him. "Okay? What for?"</p><p>"Shush." Coby leaned in, slowly, perhaps a bit hesitant, nervous and half wishing he could back out. <em>What am I <b>DOING</b>? </em>Then, when he was half an inch from his friend's lips, close enough to feel pleasantly warm breath, a voice called to him from down the hall.</p><p><br/>"Hey, Coby? Garp wants to talk to you, like, right away!"</p><p>Coby pulled back only a heartbeat before Helmeppo opened his eyes again. Coby glared down the hall. "Does it <em>really</em> have to be <em>right now</em>, Tashigi?"</p><p>Tashigi looked between them apologetically. "You know how the Vice-Admiral is. Sorry kid."</p><p><br/>Coby cursed, yet on some level, was also relieved for the interruption. <em>I can chicken out without looking like a total loser. Again.</em> He took off at a sprint down the hall towards Garp's tiny office, putting as much distance as he could between himself and Helmeppo. <br/>___________</p><p><br/>"What were you telling me earlier?" Helmeppo asked at lunch the next day. "I forgot to ask."</p><p>Coby slumped in his seat. "Right. You remember that. Okay."</p><p>"So...are you going to tell me, or what?" Helmeppo asked, shoving his food tray away and propping his elbows up on the table.</p><p>"Yes, okay. So what I was saying before..." Coby closed his eyes. <em>Things like this shouldn’t be so hard. What am I afraid of here?</em> "Promise you won’t just leave when I say it?"</p><p>"Why on earth would I do that?"</p><p>"Okay great. <em>So</em>, as you’ve apparently known for months, I’m one of the gays. Well, I’m also a gay in love."</p><p>Helmeppo's lips curved up into a tentative smile, but Coby couldn’t help but think it looked forced. "Oh yeah? At such a young age?"</p><p>"Oh hey! I’m sixteen, cut me some slack, will ya?"</p><p>"I’m teasing. Go on? Who’s the lucky man?"</p><p>Coby swallowed a lump forming in his throat. "I-I can’t say," he mumbled.</p><p>"Ohhhh I see, sworn to secrecy, hmmm?" Helmeppo teased.</p><p>Coby shot him an annoyed look. "Oh go fall in a ditch."</p><p>"What kind of a curse is <em><b>that</b></em>?"</p><p>Coby ignored the scoffed question. "Okay, so..." He set his hands on the table, gripping the edge to steady himself. "The lucky guy is...is..." he closed his eyes, unable to look at his friend while he spoke. "Iloveyouokay?"</p><p>For a moment, Helmeppo didn’t react. Then shock crossed his face. "M-<em>Me</em>? Did I hear that right?" He asked warily.</p><p>Coby's face was the same colour as his hair. "Yes! You heard that right. I’m sorry I didn’t get to say it earlier, I got scared, and Tashigi interrupted, and also...I was trying to kiss you..."</p><p>Helmeppo smirked from the corner of his lip. "Well? Come on then. Come over here."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"You wanted to kiss me, right? Well? Why don’t you?"</p><p><br/>Coby lunged forward across the table, aiming to kiss his friend, when he lost his balance and only managed to fall off to the side at the last second, which kind of spoiled the mood. He groaned, rubbing his now-sore head. Helmeppo shot to his feet and rushed around to the other side of the table, where Coby had fallen, and while it wasn’t a far fall, he’d still hit his head and was just laying there, his eyes were open and his breathing was normal, but he looked to be a bit in shock. Infirmary time.<br/>______________</p><p><br/>Coby was fine within a couple hours, as far as the doctor was concerned. They just wanted to run one more test. So while waiting for the nurse to return with the results, Helmeppo visited, pulling up a chair next to Coby's bed. Coby fidgeted, grumbling under his breath. That frustrated grumbling stopped though when the flicker of motion that was Helmeppo caught his eye.</p><p><br/>"So...while we wait, you wanna try that again?" Helmeppo asked.</p><p>"Don’t let me fall out of the bed too?" Coby asked weakly.</p><p>"I’ll come over to you so you don’t have a <em>hope</em> of falling out. What could possibly go wrong?" Helmeppo pointed out.</p><p>"C’mere." Coby propped himself up on his elbows.</p><p><br/>Helmeppo chuckled, leaning forward. Coby closed his eyes, tilting his head up when he felt the welcome sensation of warm breath mingling with his...then a startled yelp interrupted them. Coby cursed under his breath, glaring at the nurse who brought the test results. He flopped back against the bed in frustration and huffed, glaring at the ceiling. <em>The universe hates me.</em><br/>__________________</p><p><br/>The following night, walking back towards their room, Coby let his hand slide into Helmeppo's. Instinctively, without even looking, Helmeppo laced their fingers together. For some reason, that made Coby a little happier than he figured was fair, given he’d been trying to kiss the man for the past three. Yet simple gestures like this were quite nice too. He leaned on his companion.</p><p><br/>"Hey Coby?"</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>Helmeppo reached his free hand over to ruffle Coby's hair. "I love you too. Now come here and give me that kiss while nobody is around to interrupt us."</p><p><br/>Coby tugged the blond down just a bit by the shoulders and he himself reached up, finally succeeding in his endeavours and managing to kiss him properly. Not almost, but successfully, leaning in, their lips pressing firmly against each other's. Helmeppo wrapped one arm securely around Coby's waist and cupped his nape with the other, leaning into the kiss for the few seconds it lasted before Coby reluctantly pulled away. His heart hammered in his chest and his face had flushed bright pink.</p><p><br/>"I..." Coby's voice trailed away. He froze for a moment, then threw himself forward to hug Helmeppo tightly.</p><p>Helmeppo wrapped his arms around the boy, kissing the top of his head. "I know."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Protective</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>People don’t forget. Coby doesn’t like it when his friends are insulted.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Coby? You’re back late."<br/>Coby walked in, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Yeah yeah, I know. Sorry."<br/>"What’s the matter?" Helmeppo narrowed his eyes. Coby's tone usually wasn’t that brusque.<br/>"Nothing. I’m fine."</p><p><br/>Coby sat down on his bed and pulled his hands out of his pockets, staring down. Everything was sore. His hands most of all though, burning, stinging. He meant full well to keep it to himself. He didn’t want to be the cause of concern for anyone. Helmeppo came over and sat down next to him though. Coby hurriedly stuffed his hands back into his pockets, wincing involuntarily.</p><p><br/>"Coby, something happened. What’s going on? You’re being weird."<br/>"Thanks."<br/>"Talk to me."<br/>"You’re not usually one to want to hear other people's problems." Coby averted his eyes.<br/>"When that other person is you, I do."<br/>Coby closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. "Stop it..." <em>Leave me alone for once...</em><br/>"Coby?"<br/>"No."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands from his pockets, freezing when he saw the boy's cracked, bloodied knuckles. Dry blood, open wounds all over his hands and forearms when he reluctantly pulled off his jacket. Helmeppo stared at the wounds, then drew his gaze up to meet Coby's eyes. Coby looked away and pulled his hands back, his body trembling just a bit. Talking about it was the <em>last </em>thing he’d wanted to do tonight.</p><p><br/>"I’m sorry...I-I didn't want you to worry."<br/>"You got in a fight?" Helmeppo's voice softened. "What happened?"<br/>"I..." Coby's voice trailed off. He pulled off his shirt to reveal what would later be bruised patches over the left side of his chest and under his ribs. "I didn’t have a choice."<br/>"What’re you talking about? There's always a choice," Helmeppo insisted.<br/>"No. They..." Coby slumped against Helmeppo's shoulder, exhaustion washing over him, making him long to lay down and sleep for a month. "They insulted you."<br/>Helmeppo normally might have been offended he’d been insulted, even behind his back, but even worse was that Coby had been <em>hurt</em> for it. "You didn’t have to fight. What were you trying to prove?"</p><p>"I-I...people from your old town showed up here. I guess they still have the same opinions of you now as they did back then. All people remember is the bad. Why can’t you show the good more often? I...was trying to prove them wrong. You <em>do</em> have people that care. You <em>do</em> have people willing to stand up for and accept you, no matter <em>what</em> happened way back when." Coby looked up at him. "They told me things that may have been true a long time ago and no longer stand. What did you do, Helmeppo? What did you do that led to people having such terrible opinions of you?"</p><p>"Mostly I made empty, but evidently scary, threats-"<br/>Coby grinned good-humouredly. "Ohhhh like the time you <em>pretended</em> you'd be brave enough to <em>shoot</em> me?"<br/>Helmeppo glared at him. "I wasn’t being serious, y'know!"<br/>"Still scary."<br/>"How long are you going to hold that over my head?"<br/>"Probably forever."<br/>"Wonderful..."<br/>"You know what? I changed my mind. Whatever happened back then, I don’t want to know. What matters is you’re the person you are today. You can only move forward from here!"<br/>"I appreciate your optimism."<br/>"It’s true! You’re a different person now than you were back then. Why focus on the past?"<br/>"Says <em>you</em>, who overthinks <em>everything.</em>" Helmeppo took Coby's hands in his own again. "Come on, let’s get you cleaned up."</p><p><br/>After washing the worst of the blood away- though not without stinging pain- and bandaging his hand as best he could, Coby returned and flopped down on the bed next to his friend, groaning. He closed his eyes momentarily, but forced himself to open his eyes when he felt himself beginning to drift off. He didn’t want to go to sleep. Not yet. Helmeppo stared down at Coby's bandaged hands, then looked to his face, the younger man's brow creased and jaw tense. </p><p><br/>"You shouldn’t have fought them, Coby."</p><p>Coby closed his eyes. "I couldn’t let them insult you. I couldn’t <em>not</em> say anything. When I outed myself as the friend who cares and would stand up for you...the guy was looking for a fight."<br/>"But he won that fight in the end in that you gave in and came away bloodied..."<br/>"It was worth it." Coby sat up properly. "Knowing that I didn’t stand by and watch my friend get put down."<br/>Helmeppo wrapped his arms tightly around Coby. "One, you’re the sweetest, most amazing friend ever, two, never do that again. You made me worry about you."<br/>"I’m sorry, okay?" Coby opened his eyes and offered a sheepish smile.<br/>"Coby?"<br/>"Yeah?"<br/>Helmeppo took Coby's hand and kissed his fingertips, then pulled the boy's hand to rest against his cheek, closing his eyes and leaning into Coby's warmth. "Thank you for being the best friend ever."<br/>Coby's gaze softened. His lips curved up in the first hint of a smile. "Thank you for <em>letting</em> me."</p><p><br/>All of a sudden, it didn’t matter anymore. The fight, the bandaged hands and bloodied knuckles, the insults. None of it mattered. Those things may still sting and Coby may still be constantly reminded with every movement, but that was still the past, and the past could never matter, or someone wouldn’t be able to reach for the future. That didn’t matter either at the time though. All that mattered was then and there, being in the moment. Not in the past, not in the future. Just the two of them sitting together at the edge of Coby's bed, enjoying the fact they were able to sit there and breathe in each other's presence. That they were the kind of friends who would stand by each other, no matter how much of an idiot the other was. <em>I think...</em> Coby tilted his head to look up at his best friend, and smiled when for a brief moment, their eyes met, then he nuzzled his head onto Helmeppo's shoulder comfortably. <em>That this comfort and safety with each other is the greatest gift of all.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Coma</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everything goes wrong when Helmeppo takes a blow meant for Coby. Understandably, there is much upset. Coby proves that he just can’t deal with shit like this.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Pretty long one.</p>
<p>Not really super ship-focused, but it has its moments. Kinda shippy at the end. I mostly just needed some good angst, so this one is... kinda dark. This became darker than I intended it since I don’t actually plan what I write. I just have an idea and I go with it, buuuuut I hope you guys enjoy.</p>
<p>Stolen (with permission. Is that stealing...?) from an angst channel on a Discord server because why not?</p>
<p>(Since I realized I should be doing this) Trigger Warning: Trauma, severe injury, self-harm (not graphically described), attempted medical suicide (kind of? I don’t know what else to call it)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Whatever happens, I’ll always be here for you."</p>
<p>Coby looked down at the desk. "Thank you, but...I don’t need to be protected."</p>
<p>Helmeppo leaned heavily on the desk, smirking. "Last assignment when I had to dig you out of the ditch?"</p>
<p>"Simple mistake!"</p>
<p>"The one before that, when you bit off more than you could chew?"</p>
<p>"I only meant to take on the three guys, I didn’t expect two more to show up!"</p>
<p>"You never know what’s going to happen. I’m just saying." Helmeppo ruffled Coby's hair. "I’m here for you. Always. I’d take a bullet for you if you needed me to."</p>
<p>Coby closed his eyes. "I wouldn’t <em>let</em> you if I could help it." He lifted his head, looking up at his friend. "Tell me you’re exaggerating. Tell me I don’t have to worry about that, because god dammit, I don’t think I could deal with losing you."</p>
<p>"You won’t lose me."<br/>___________</p>
<p><br/>"Hey! <em><strong>COBY</strong></em>, move!"</p>
<p>Coby turned. "What-"</p>
<p><br/>It all happened in a blur. His eyes went wide at the sight in front of him. Blood stained the ground, a heavy <b><em>thud</em></b> followed. Coby whipped around toward where the attack had come from. A mountain of a man with dual swords. Coby's shoulders tensed as he glared towards the enemy, but the man didn’t attack, just slipped away into the shadows. Coby returned his attention to the officer who had taken a blow that had been meant for him, coat stained with blood. He rolled the man over and cried out in shock.</p>
<p><em>Helmeppo...he told me he’d taken a blow for me if I needed it, and I did. He...He kept his promise, and now he’s barely breathing...</em> Coby lowered himself and lay his head against his friend's chest, checking for a heartbeat. His own heart pounded, he barely dared to breathe, every muscle tense. Tears stung his eyes. <em>Please please please...you <b>have</b> to be alive! Come on..</em>. He drew a shaky breath when he found that pulse, faint, but present. He gripped his friend's collar so tight his knuckles turned white. He shook Helmeppo roughly, almost desperately. The man was unconscious, and Coby <em>had</em> to rouse him. Nobody bothered them, enemies and Marines alike rushing past, and Coby wasn’t sure if he was relieved, or panicked. He had to either wake Helmeppo or get help fast, and he wasn’t sure which would be the better call. One terrifying thought remained prominent in his mind whenever he thought of taking Helmeppo to the doctors. <em>What if they assess him and tell me he won’t make it?</em> That sent a shiver of terror through him.</p>
<p><br/>"Goddammit, Helmeppo! You said you’d always be here to help me, so you’re not allowed to die now! Don’t break your promise, huh?!?"</p>
<p><br/>Something else was wrong. When Coby tried to scoop his friend up closer to him, get him off the bloodied ground, Helmeppo's frame wasn’t as sturdy as normal. Coby couldn’t tell what exactly, but his arm something in his torso didn’t seem quite right. <em>He hit the ground <b>hard</b>. He didn’t...<b>break</b> something, right?</em> Coby pushed it aside and just kept shaking Helmeppo with no results, not even the flutter of the blond's eyelids or the movement of a hand to suggest that he was aware of Coby's presence in any way. His heartbeat was weaker. His breathing was ragged, holding an odd pattern. No, the odd thing was that it <em>wasn't</em> a pattern. No steady rhythm. Catching now and then, shallow at times, occasionally a single deep breath. <em>He <b>can't</b> be taking in enough air.</em>.. The way his skin was clammy and his heartbeat was changing suggested Coby's theory was right.</p>
<p>Coby let go of his companion's collar and leaned down, firmly pressing his lips over the blond's to blow air into his mouth, try to find and re-train his body into a steady rhythm. He didn’t have much experience in CPR, he wished he’d paid more attention, nor had Helmeppo suffered from a cardiac arrest or a fatal wound. <em>Yet</em>. Coby couldn’t help but worry. So perhaps the action was premature, but he couldn’t be blamed! Coby had panicked and done the only thing that came to mind in that moment. He could not stabilize his friend's breathing though and was forced to give up trying. With nothing else he could try, Coby tried his best to carry Helmeppo back to the ship for the medics to see to him. Coby was plenty strong enough to support the man's weight, the only challenge with it- aside from avoiding his numerous injuries- was that Helmeppo was considerably taller than he himself, causing carrying him to be quite awkward.</p>
<p><br/>"Medic! We’ve got one unconscious, and he won’t respond!"</p>
<p><br/>A medic was almost instantly there, helping Coby lift Helmeppo up into one of the temporary beds for diagnosis and basic treatment. Coby knew he was needed on the field, but if something happened, he wanted to be there. Helmeppo had taken the blow for <em>him</em>. The <em>least</em> he could do was stay beside him until he woke up.<br/>__________</p>
<p><br/>The first night was the worst. Coby hadn’t expected Helmeppo to stay unconscious overnight. It didn’t feel right, going back to their room alone, waking up at 4 in the morning from a dream, rolling over to talk to his friend about said dream and <em>not</em> being able to see the snoring lump that was Helmeppo in the bed across from his. It was...quite disorienting and disheartening.</p>
<p>The second and third nights were similar, and no word had come. That was when Coby really started to worry. Not certain he actually <em>wanted</em> to get the update, with a little encouragement from Tashigi, Coby went to the infirmary to check things out a few days later. When he asked after Helmeppo, the nurses wouldn’t look him in the eye and just moved on with their duties in silence. That was unnerving. <em>Or maybe I’m just hyper-aware of everything and overestimating things.</em> He tried to reason. He was surprised they had let him in at all. Was that a good thing, or a bad thing? Whenever Coby closed his eyes, all he could see was the flash of the blades and how much blood there had been. All he could remember was a weak heartbeat and irregular breathing pattern. He’d had three nightmares about it, and in all, he’d had to live in a world that he no longer shared with his best <em>friend. I couldn’t deal with it in the dream, and I knew I’d wake up from that. There’s no WAY I could deal with it in the real.</em></p>
<p>When he pushed aside the curtain partition that separated Helmeppo's little station from the others, Coby's heart sank. A doctor was there, checking something on a clipboard. A heart monitor was attached to Helmeppo, as well as a breathing tube and an IV to pump nutrients and fluids into him as needed. <em>It's worse than I thought.</em> He didn’t need to ask. When Coby turned his attention from his friend to the doctor, the doctor set aside the clipboard and cleared his throat, nodding in acknowledgement to the newcomer and trying for a neutral tone. No need to cause panic. He would give an honest report, as was required, but it was a doctor's duty to alarm neither a patient nor their visitors further than needed. He could try, but with Coby's mind being on edge and ready for bad news, it was easier said than done.</p>
<p><br/>"He’s comatose. Blood loss, shock to the body, a few broken bones, and he took a heavy hit to the head. All his nutrients and bloodwork came back with decent results, he has an otherwise healthy medical background and he’s got a strong heart."</p>
<p>"Will he be okay?" Coby asked hopefully.</p>
<p>"We haven’t been able to determine that yet. We're taking as best care as we can, but he’s unresponsive to everything. Captain, if he wakes up-"</p>
<p>Coby froze. "<b><em>IF</em></b>?"</p>
<p>"Whenever someone goes into a coma, there’s a chance they won’t wake up. He's not expected at this point to lose his life, but lord only knows where things will go with time. We're doing all we can for him. Captain, if he wakes up, he may have amnesia on some level. He may not remember himself. He may not know where he is, and he may not remember the people around him. Do you understand this? That... he may wake up and not remember you?"</p>
<p>Coby's throat closed up. "I-I understand," he managed to choke out. "It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t remember me. He can recover. Just... let me spend some time with him. Please. He’s...He's my best friend."</p>
<p>"Of course."</p>
<p><br/>Coby pulled up a chair at Helmeppo's bedside and took his hand, firmly squeezing it. "Helmeppo, it’s me, Coby, and the doctor says...you might not remember who I am when you wake up, and you’d <em>better</em> wake up. Don’t be afraid, okay? I promise, there’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re in good care, and if you can’t remember things...I’ll be here. I’ll be patient with you," Coby promised, his voice a murmur. "You’re laying here, in this coma, because <em><b>I</b></em> wasn’t careful. If you hadn’t taken that blow for me, I would be dead. I’m...I'm so sorry. If I’d been paying more attention, we’d be laughing and joking around, or eating dinner together. I hope...we will again. Helmeppo...I don’t care." Tears rolled down Coby's face. He wiped them away with his free hand. "Catching bad guys, my dream to become an Admiral... I don’t care about any of it anymore! My ambition and willingness to take risks cost <em>you</em> dearly. Please, just wake up...I’d give everything up to talk to you again one more time." </p>
<p><br/>The doctor picked up his clipboard again. "Captain-"</p>
<p>Coby turned towards the doctor. "Do you think he heard me?"</p>
<p>The doctor smiled sadly. "I think so. There’s evidence to suggest coma patients hear what’s being said, feel what’s being done."</p>
<p>"So...you think he can feel me holding his hand? Hear me promising support?" The tears just kept coming. "Do you think he knows that I love him?"</p>
<p>"If he’s heard anything you just said, he knows. Your love for him is obvious. This man means a lot to you. Whenever you were in here, laying on a hospital bed, he was here to hold your hand too, whether you were unconscious for a while, or sick, not caring if he got himself sick by being so close, and he never said much, but he was there for you like you’re here for him. The love between you two is as plain as day. Anyone who sees you together would agree. We'll save him. We'll do everything we can."</p>
<p>"He’s my everything ever since I came here. One of my first friends, my ally, my best friend. If...If he never wakes up, I don’t know <em>what</em> I’ll do." <em>He deserves to live more than I do. He’s done so much good, and I’m the reason he ends up in the infirmary half the time. He’d be able to achieve so much more if not for that.</em></p>
<p> "If it’s of any comfort to you, bring meals in here. You said you normally ate with him. It’s not the same, but it might be better than staring at an empty seat."</p>
<p>"If that’s alright with you, I think...that would help."</p>
<p>"I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t."<br/>___________</p>
<p><br/>Days passed. Then weeks. Then months. Every day, Coby lost just a little more hope, but he never stopped visiting, eating at his bedside, holding his hand, talking to him, keeping him in the loop as to what was going on and praying he really could hear him.</p>
<p><br/>"Okay okay, so this morning, Tashigi and I set a trap for Smoker, and we're waiting to see if he falls for it. If he does, one, we'll be in deep shit when he realizes who did it, and it won’t take him long. Two, it’ll be <em>hilarious</em>! I <em>wish</em> you could see it! It’s not as much fun pissing people off without you though, so you have to get up soon."</p>
<p><br/>Coby set his dinner plate aside. Day in, day out without fail, Coby's mind wouldn’t forget that scene, his whole being wracked with guilt. He should’ve been paying attention. He should’ve moved. <em>Helmeppo is in a coma, maybe even dying, because of ME. I mean...it’s an eye-opener, but why does the universe hate us so much?</em> Coby pulled himself closer to his friend, ghosting his fingers across the man's cheek. <em>You have to wake up. I haven’t had the chance to thank you properly yet.</em></p>
<p>Tashigi had tried to be his pillar to lean on, to give him the same support Helmeppo had, but it wasn’t the same. She could try all she wanted to emulate him, but Helmeppo was different, and he was definitely something special. A lot of their own allies harboured a disdain or contempt for the man, likely due to his history or his slightly selfish nature. He was better now than when Coby had first met him, <em>far</em> better, but sometimes, old habits die hard. Finally Tashigi insisted Coby stop spending every spare moment in the infirmary, under claims that without his usual levels of extra training, his skills were getting rusty and he probably didn’t hold number one place in the sparring department anymore. Maybe it was true. Maybe he should’ve been working on it, but he put 110% into the usual training. Surely it would suffice for now.</p>
<p>He knew on some level Tashigi was trying to take care of him, but it would not ease his mind. Whatever happened, wherever he went, Coby was <em>painfully</em> reminded of old memories with Helmeppo in various places and scenarios. Memories that he would have but that Helmeppo might not. That was almost a lonelier thought that living knowing they didn’t walk the same earth. <em><b>Almost</b></em>. Anyone who looked at him could see how he walked with his shoulders slumped and head down, how Coby, usually so dedicated and passionate in all he did, now did many things halfheartedly, the only exception being his regular training. It was his main outlet for all his frustration and bitterness at himself, and his pent-up anger at the situation as a whole.</p>
<p>Coby never told anyone, but sometimes he couldn’t get past the fact that it was all his fault. Sometimes his fear and anger and frustration became too much and he didn’t know what to do with it. He began hurting himself, at first little nicks on his arms or palms. Later, deeper marks in his wrists, chest, hands, and neck. It always stung, often it would leave torn skin or what would later become scars, but he never cared. <em>After the pain I've put him through, I deserve far worse.</em><br/>____________</p>
<p><br/>It was late at night, almost time the doctors usually kicked him out. Coby was drop-dead tired, but he had always stayed until he was kicked out, and he wasn’t about to change that now. <em>He would do the same for me.</em> Helmeppo had been taken off the assisted breathing, but was still hooked up to IVs for medication of some sort, as well as food and fluids.</p>
<p>Almost two years. It had been almost two <em><b>years</b></em> since that day. Coby had recently begun to think the doctors would take Helmeppo off life-support and give up on him, no matter how many times the doctor said they weren’t giving up yet, they had no reason to. That day, they got reason to. Coby was half lulled to sleep, holding Helmeppo's hand gently, eyes half closed and shoulders slumped, listening to the quiet and now-familiar sounds of the infirmary, when suddenly, one of them disappeared. The heart monitor. Coby's eyes snapped open and he sat up straight, body rigid, eyes fixed on the monitor that usually showed the pulse, all of a sudden flat. He cursed under his breath and roughly shook Helmeppo, laying a hand against his neck and his head on his chest, desperately searching for a pulse.</p>
<p>There was none.</p>
<p><br/>"<b><em>Doctor Halls!</em></b>" Coby's voice was hoarse. "It...the heart monitor...his heartbeat...it all stopped!" He managed when the doctor arrived. "I don’t care what, <em>do</em> something! <em>Please</em>, save him!" Coby squeezed Helmeppo's hand firmly. "Come on... show me you’re still alive..."</p>
<p>"Captain..."</p>
<p>"His <em>heart isn’t working</em>, doctor! Fix it!"</p>
<p>"Easier said than done."</p>
<p>"Yeah? Well so is most of your work! What? You gonna need a transplant or something?"</p>
<p>"Well it’s not that simple. There’s a lot involved in-"</p>
<p>"It’s a yes or no question!"</p>
<p>"Please calm down-"</p>
<p>"I can’t <em>calm down</em>. My best friend is <em>dead in front of me</em>! I don’t care how you do it, <em>fix</em> him!"</p>
<p>"We'll assess the problem-"</p>
<p>"The problem is his <em>heart isn’t working!</em> You can’t be any clearer than that. Fix it before it’s too late!" Coby whirled around toward Helmeppo and pressed down roughly on his chest, trying his best to get the heart going again. Helmeppo did not respond. "No no no, Helmeppo, come on! You can’t die on me. <b><em>PLEASE</em></b>! This is all my fault, so I need you to wake up so I can apologize and <em>know</em> you can hear me!"</p>
<p>"Captain-"</p>
<p>Coby shook his head. "Doctor, if you need to do a heart transplant-"</p>
<p>"I hope you realize functional hearts are difficult to come by."</p>
<p>"Not when it’s still fresh enough it’s still pumping, right?"</p>
<p>"They don’t often remain functional after long."</p>
<p>Coby tore off his jacket. "Then save him! Take my heart and use it to save him!"</p>
<p>"That doesn’t solve the problem. We still lose someone that way. We cannot, <em>will</em> not murder one person to save another."</p>
<p>"You’re not murdering, I’m offering! I got him in this mess in the first place. This isn’t the first time he’s been in medical care because of me... but it could be the last. I don’t mind dying if it guarantees his survival. He...He <em>can't </em>die!"</p>
<p>"We're declining your offer."</p>
<p>"No," Coby said, tone firm.</p>
<p>"Excuse me?" The doctor raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>"I said <em><b>no</b></em>. You can’t decline the offer. He...He deserves to live. Maybe people don’t see it, but...god dammit, he’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. This could be the last time he ends up here for my sake."</p>
<p>"And you think he’d be <em>happy</em>, knowing that he’s alive because you threw away your life? He’s here because he cares enough about you to want to save your life. You can’t throw away what he’s done for you."</p>
<p>Tears rolled down Coby's face. "Obviously I don't want to die, but...he can’t die because I was stupid either." Coby took Helmeppo's hand again, then reached over and placed a feather-light kiss to the young man's cheek.<em> I'll never stop asking. I need you to wake up. Come back. Come home.</em></p>
<p>"We'll do all we can to see if we can bring him back. We'll need space though."</p>
<p>"Okay. If...If you change your mind though..."</p>
<p>"I won’t."<br/>_________</p>
<p><br/>With support from the doctors and way too much medical equipment for <em>anyone's</em> liking, vital functions resumed, but that didn’t mean Helmeppo had been brought back from his comatose state. Every day, Coby beat himself up a little more. Garp had to shout at him sometimes to actually focus on his training. His cutting had gotten worse, deeper and longer marks. He claimed it his only sense of relief when Tashigi caught sight of the red, fresh wounds, not yet settled into the white scars.</p>
<p><br/>"Coby!" She grabbed his hand and rolled up his sleeve, staring in horror at the wounds. "You’ve been-"</p>
<p>"So <em>what</em>? Don't I deserve worse? Helmeppo...he’s...not a week ago, Helmeppo died because of me. He’s alive again now because the doctors are good at what they do, but...I was there when my best friend <em><b>died</b></em> because of injuries he got saving <em>me</em>. I-I can’t just-"</p>
<p>"Shhhh. He made that decision for himself. It’s not your fault." Tashigi stared down at the wounds. "Stop hurting yourself."</p>
<p>Coby snatched his hand away. "Stop telling me what to do and what not to do!" Tears stung his eyes. He raised a hand to wipe them away. "You don’t get it. I hope you never have to."</p>
<p><br/>Coby turned and marched down the hall, blinking his tears away. <em>I'm useless. I'm weak. I’m...the embodiment of all things people strive <b>not </b>to be. I’m not worth the effort he puts into me, and now he could DIE because he thought I was worth saving. He means the world to me. I should’ve been able to help him. If he dies...I don’t know if I’ll be able to face the world knowing he...died for me.</em></p>
<p>Coby headed into the infirmary and shoved aside the curtain of Helmeppo's little corner. Nobody ever questioned him just walking in anymore. This was a normal occurrence. This time though, he froze. Helmeppo was sitting up properly, eyes open, frowning at his IV as the nurse unhooked him. Coby's whole face lit up. He ignored the doctor calling out to him and just streaked forward, tackling his friend in a hug, burying his face against Helmeppo's shoulder, breathing heavily to try and keep himself from crying.</p>
<p><br/>"You’re okay! Helmeppo, it’s...it's been almost three <em>years</em>! Did you hear any of what I said? No no no, don’t answer that. I just..." Coby lifted his head, wiping away his tears. "I never got to say thank you."</p>
<p><br/>Helmeppo was beginning to look...a <em>little</em> put-off, and it wasn’t helped when Coby threw himself forward, firmly setting his hands on Helmeppo's shoulders and kissing him, a firm, proper kiss, full of relief. Coby held it only a moment before seeming to realize exactly what he was doing, and pulling away with a furious blush.</p>
<p><br/>"Sorry...Sorry, I know. I just..." Coby shook his head. Helmeppo was staring at him blankly though, as if... he didn’t know him. Coby's heart sank. "Helmeppo?"</p>
<p>"<em>What</em>?" Helmeppo demanded, perhaps a bit more sharply than he’d have liked.</p>
<p>Coby flinched. "No need to get mad at me. Just look at me, okay? Who am I?"</p>
<p>Helmeppo fixed his eyes on the younger man, but the vacant look didn’t disappear. "I’m...sorry. Should I know?" He vaguely recognized the pink haired boy in front of him, but... he couldn’t put a name or memories to a face. Someone he knew in passing?</p>
<p>Coby’s heart sank. "It’s me, Coby." His voice was soft. <em>I can’t cry again or get upset. I don’t need to upset him. He’s... probably scared, probably confused enough already</em>. "Coby your best friend? Coby your roommate?"</p>
<p>Helmeppo shook his head. "Sorry."</p>
<p>Coby bit his lip. "Please..." he reached up to lay a hand against Helmeppo's cheek. "Just <em>try</em> to remember."</p>
<p>Helmeppo's gaze fell to the cuts. "You’re hurt."</p>
<p>"I couldn’t help it. You...You're hurt and were in a coma because of me and I didn’t...I didn't..." Coby stared down at his cuts, blinking back tears. "I didn’t know how else to cope."</p>
<p>Helmeppo couldn’t remember. His mind drew a complete blank when it came to this boy, but...the sight of the wounds still worried him. "Stop hurting yourself."</p>
<p>Somehow, those words and that blankness in his eyes made Coby want to hurt himself worse. "I promise," he managed. He cleared his throat. "I...I'll be patient with you, okay?"</p>
<p>Easier said than done.<br/>___________</p>
<p><br/>When after a couple of weeks, things didn’t improve, Coby became increasingly frustrated with it. He kept trying to jog Helmeppo's memory, but it never worked. When Helmeppo tried to return to work, he functioned mostly on muscle memory, which made Coby sad to watch. Trying to answer questions he normally had the answer to in half a second. Trying to put himself through the paces and evidently looking as though he didn’t know what he was doing. After training one day, Coby marched up to Helmeppo and without a word... just whacked him over the head. <b><em>Hard</em></b></p>
<p><br/>"Hey! Ow?!?"</p>
<p>Coby crossed his arms. "Okay, remember now?"</p>
<p>Helmeppo scowled, rubbing his sore head. "I feel like I should be used to this, and shouldn't be upset, and yet I very much am."</p>
<p>Coby sighed, raking his fingers through his hair in confusion. "Huh. That usually works... Idiot, <em>remember already!</em>"</p>
<p>"Look, I don’t know what the deal is with you-"</p>
<p>"<em>The deal</em> is, you have amnesia and I want my best friend back!" Coby gripped Helmeppo's collar. "Give him back!"</p>
<p><br/>Helmeppo didn’t quite understand why, maybe something in his subconscious, maybe human compassion, but the desperation in Coby's tone made his heart hurt. <em>Give him back!</em> Words shouted in panic. Fear. Helmeppo wanted to <em>stop</em> that fear, but he didn’t know how, and this kid had been seriously freaking him out basically from the moment he had seen him.</p>
<p><br/>"Coby..."</p>
<p>Coby looked up hopefully. "That’s right, that’s me. Talk to me."</p>
<p>Helmeppo closed his eyes, trying to summon memories, but they were fleeting, images or sounds, flashing through his mind, so brief he couldn’t hold onto a single one. "What do you want me to say, kid?"</p>
<p>"Okay okay...before waking up in the infirmary...last thing you remember?"</p>
<p>Helmeppo frowned. "I remember..." he trailed off. "Waking up after a dream. I remember... crying. Someone hugged me until I fell asleep again."</p>
<p>Coby's heart wrenched. "Helmeppo...that...that was <em>months</em> before the accident..."</p>
<p>"But..."</p>
<p>"Think back even further. Surely you can remember me? If you can just remember me, I can <em>help</em> you!"</p>
<p>"Does your <em>help</em> involve hitting me over the head again?"</p>
<p>"Usually it fixes things."</p>
<p>"That’s not an answer. Ever since I woke up, you’ve been freaking me the fuck out, so <em>stop it</em>."</p>
<p>"How am I freaking you out?"</p>
<p>"You just...seen to know everything about me when <em>I</em> barely know! You...You talk like you know me and yet, I don’t know you! Cut it out!"</p>
<p>"Breathe. Just calm down, okay?"</p>
<p>"Doesn’t help that you <em>kissed</em> me when I first woke up."</p>
<p>"Okay okay, I’m sorry. I just..." <em>Nope. <b>Definitely</b> not the time to tell him I had a crush on him</em>. "I didn’t think. I was just so relieved you were alive, and I did not mean that to happen, but it just kinda...did."</p>
<p>Helmeppo's shoulders slumped. "Well... it was alarming and very confusing, but...kinda nice."</p>
<p>Coby smirked. "When you start to remember properly, I’ll kiss you again."</p>
<p>"Ah shaddup."<br/>______________</p>
<p><br/><em>Won't remember. </em>A sharp sting. <em>Did it for me</em>. A slice. <em>Nothing I can do.</em> A trail of blood. <em>Could’ve prevented it.</em> Tears. <em>He doesn’t know me. </em>Salt mixing with blood, stinging.</p>
<p><br/>"What’re you <em>doing</em>?" Helmeppo demanded, alarm flashing through him when he opened the door and noticed the knife in Coby's hand. The trail of blood on his cheek, trickling down to his neck.</p>
<p>Coby tightened his grip on the hilt. "Punishing myself for what happened to you."</p>
<p>Helmeppo may not remember much, but he still didn’t want the kid to hurt himself. He yanked the knife out of Coby's hand and set it aside. "Well <em>stop</em> it. What happened, happened. Can’t be changed."</p>
<p>"But-"</p>
<p>"No." <em>Crazy kid.</em></p>
<p>"But-"</p>
<p>"Go to sleep."</p>
<p>"Fine..."</p>
<p><br/>Coby tried, but he tossed and turned. <em>My fault. All my fault. I could’ve kept this from happening. Things didn’t have to be this way. I know he’s been in therapy for the memory thing, but he shouldn’t <b>need</b> to be</em>. It must’ve been two in the morning when he finally settled into an awkward state of half consciousness, resting, neither awake nor asleep, until Helmeppo sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily.</p>
<p><br/>"Coby!"</p>
<p>Coby's eyes snapped open. "What? I’m awake. I’m here." He pulled himself out of bed and walked over. "You okay? Bad dream?"</p>
<p>Helmeppo shook his head. "No...I just..." he turned his gaze up to meet Coby's, then yanked the younger Marine down next to him, wrapping them both in the blankets, curled up together. Helmeppo lay his head against Coby's shoulder. "I think... I remembered."</p>
<p>"What did you remember?" Coby asked.</p>
<p>"You." Helmeppo breathed the word. "I remember...you talking. I don’t remember about what, but just...sitting at the mess hall, you were talking about something. I remember training together. I remember you dragging me to the Christmas party and I remember... promising I’d be there to protect you."</p>
<p>"You did," Coby murmured. "You kept your promise. I owe you my life. Okay, test. If you remember me, then-"</p>
<p>"You’re a Marine Captain, insisted on both of us working towards becoming officers. Your favourite food is onigiri, you have a dream to become an Admiral. I think... 16 when I met you? Didn’t have the greatest start, and sometimes you still talk people's ears off and it’s annoying."</p>
<p>"I...okay. You pass the test." Coby shook his head. "Then...do you remember what happened just before the coma?"</p>
<p>"I...no, but the doctor says that’s normal, as part of the brain's reflex, block out traumatic experience. Tell me?"</p>
<p>Coby smiled softly. "You went down protecting me. Saving me from a blow that would’ve taken my head off."</p>
<p>"I’d do it again if I had to."</p>
<p>"Okay, now that you’re starting to get your memories back, keep going to therapy? Maybe you’ll even recover your memories totally."</p>
<p>"That’s the idea."</p>
<p>"And maybe you remember me telling you that when you started to remember..." Coby shifted just a bit closer. "I’d give you that kiss? If you still want it, I mean."</p>
<p><br/>Helmeppo didn’t say anything. He only wrapped his arms around Coby and pressed his lips to his companion's. Coby closed his eyes and gladly leaned into it, holding onto him tightly. It was too short, but that was okay, because after that, they didn’t let go. Helmeppo's mind wasn’t in perfect shape. He’d still need time to recover. But it had been and would continue to slowly get better. For the time being, Coby couldn’t focus on much else. All he could focus on was the fact that Helmeppo was alive. Despite all the odds, he’d pulled through, and that he had even come back enough to start to remember.</p>
<p><br/>"Helmeppo...you’re not allowed to forget again, okay?" Coby leaned against him. "I felt like...even though you were up, you could walk and talk, you still...still weren’t <em>there</em>. In some way, I’d still lost you."</p>
<p>"Don’t worry. I don’t know how this works. I don’t know if it’ll come and go or if this is the start of recovery, but...I’ll hold onto whatever comes back."</p>
<p>Coby took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "Hold onto me too. I'm scared that if I let go...you’ll slip away again."</p>
<p>"I’m not going anywhere. And Coby...stop hurting yourself, okay?" Helmeppo's gaze fell back to the collection of bloodied cuts and the scars on Coby's hands, his arms and wrists, then on his cheek. "Please."</p>
<p>"I...didn’t know what else to do, how else to cope."</p>
<p>"Easy. Come here and hug me."</p>
<p><br/>Coby didn’t have to be told twice. He wrapped his arms tightly around his friend, gripping his shirt, breathing in the man's familiar, comforting scent. <em>It's going to be okay. If anything, tonight proves...it’s not beyond hope. There’s room for recovery. Whatever happens, things will be okay.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I did some research on comas and amnesia and all, but couldn’t incorporate everything into a oneshot. Hope it’s decent!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Haircut</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby doesn’t trust Helmeppo with scissors in the least, and Helmeppo isn't blond to Coby's attraction to him all throughout.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This kinda got out of hand.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Coby, your hair."</p><p>"What about it?" Coby snapped, emerging from the bathhouse. He raised his hand to run it through his thick hair.</p><p>"It’s getting pretty long. You trying out a new style or something?"</p><p>"Wow. <em>You're</em> judging me for long hair?" Coby raised an eyebrow. "You, with your long, glorious mane? Seriously?"</p><p>"I’m not <em>judging</em>. It's just a question, and don’t shame the hair!"</p><p>"I just need to trim the ends, that’s all." Coby shrugged, reaching up to feel the back of his hair, now uneven, hanging down his neck. He slung his still-damp towel across his shoulders and went to grab his scissors.</p><p>"Let me do it, you just relax," Helmeppo insisted.</p><p>Coby smirked, crossing his arms. "You’ve never cut hair and your style shows it. You’ll be a disaster."</p><p>Helmeppo ruffled Coby's hair, sliding his glasses off and setting them on the desk. "Let’s be real. Your hair is messy enough already that I couldn’t make it worse if I <em>tried</em>."</p><p>Coby fumed. "Hey! It’s not <em>that</em> bad! Sorry I'm not <em>perfect</em> like you." He rolled his eyes. </p><p>"I never said you had to be per- wait. You...You think I'm perfect?"</p><p>Coby's face tinted pink. "Give me that!"</p><p><br/>Coby snatched the scissors out of Helmeppo's hand and went to the small mirror, setting the tool down and grabbing a comb instead to work out the tangles in his hair. A sharp pain as he tugged a little too hard on the last one. <em>Ow</em>... He couldn’t help but be self-conscious, noticing in the mirror that Helmeppo was staring at him with crossed arms. Then Helmeppo had crossed the room to him, retrieved the scissors, and shoved Coby down on his bed. Coby yelped, gaze snapping up to his roommate again. Helmeppo moved around to settle behind Coby and ran his fingers through the boy's damp hair. Coby's lips curved into a tiny smile.</p><p><br/>"Haven’t trimmed in a couple months, huh?"</p><p>"Helmeppo, you don’t have to-"</p><p>"Yes I do." Helmeppo pushed aside the first layer of the boy's hair to get at the unkempt layers. "Jeez Coby...what’s with your crazy hair? Do you <em>ever</em> take care of it?" He lifted a strand of hair and carefully trimmed it.</p><p>"Excuse me, I do too!" Coby reached back to feel the strands and jerked his hand back, narrowly avoiding his hand being cut right along with a nearby lock of too-long hair. "Whoa whoa whoa! Hey! Look out there, will ya?"</p><p>"If you get your finger cut off because you’re poking around, I claim no responsibility."</p><p>"Helmeppo-" Coby tried to turn, yelping as his eye was nearly taken out. "Are you <em>kidding</em> me?"</p><p>Helmeppo rolled his eyes. "This <em>wouldn’t be a problem</em> if you’d stop moving around so much. Just hold still."</p><p>"Fine fine. If this ends up looking horrible-"</p><p>"I’m trimming, Coby. Not giving you a whole new look."</p><p> <br/>Coby huffed in frustration- mainly at the fact he had no logical argument against it- but didn’t argue further. He just crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax so he wouldn’t jump at the sound of the scissors clipping strands of hair that stuck out. He winced as Helmeppo clipped a strand close to his ear. Helmeppo paused to set a hand on Coby's shoulder in silence. A reassuring gesture. Coby relaxed again, which allowed Helmeppo to continue.</p><p>With each passing second, Coby was becoming more acutely aware of the fingers that ran through his hair, checking the length and thickness, scissors cutting away strands that were too long, too thin, or had split ends. A shiver went down Coby's spine at the touch of fingers to the back of his head, running through his hair, and at the feeling of warm, light breath against his neck. It was all he could do to pray that the reaction hadn’t been noticed, but even Coby's luck wasn’t <em>that</em> good. Helmeppo smirked, raising an eyebrow. He finished trimming the thick locks and swept the fallen strands into the garbage before setting the scissors down. He set his hands on Coby's shoulders, gently massaging the boy's tense muscles, easing the kinks out. It was...kind of counterproductive, as the touch made Coby tense up all over again, but the boy smiled to himself, just the slight upward curve of his lip. Yet it wasn’t missed. Helmeppo leaned in and dropped his voice to whisper in Coby's ear.</p><p><br/>"You like that?"</p><p>"Wh-What?"</p><p>Helmeppo sat down behind him and moved to massage the back of Coby's neck, which practically made the boy melt into his touch. "That. Don’t try and tell me it doesn’t make a difference to you. You like it."</p><p>"Yeah..." Coby's tiny smile grew. "It’s kind of nice."</p><p>"Only kind of?"</p><p>"Okay okay, fine. I'm absolutely loving this. Don’t stop."</p><p>"I’m not going to."</p><p>Coby took a deep breath, cool, fresh air filling his lungs, and slowly let it go. "Helmeppo-"</p><p>Helmeppo shook his head. "No. Just relax." He pulled Coby over to lay down on his stomach on the bed and settled next to the rosette to press down firmly against the tight muscles. "You’re so tense... what’s got you all worked up?"</p><p><em>Your hands on me</em>. "Dunno. Just...pent up stress, I guess."</p><p>"Uh-huh." Helmeppo smirked. "That’s it. Completely."</p><p>"It is!" Coby buried his face in the pillow to hide his blush.</p><p>"You sure it’s that, and not-"</p><p>"YepI'msure!"</p><p>Helmeppo chuckled. "Then look at me properly."</p><p>"Nopecan'tdoit!"</p><p>"Are you blushing into your pillow?"</p><p>"Of <em>course</em> not!"</p><p>"Then look at me."</p><p>Coby groaned. <em>He's not gonna let this go</em>. He lifted his head reluctantly, trying and failing to will his blush away. "What do you waaaaant?"</p><p>"Awe, so cute." Helmeppo poked Coby's cheek, grinning.</p><p>"I’m not blushing, nor am I <em>cute</em>, Helmeppo."</p><p>"Yes you <em>are</em>, no matter how hard you try to deny it."</p><p>"But...okay. Fine. Yes, I am blushing into the pillow. Do you have a problem with that?"</p><p>"Not a <em>problem</em>, per se, but I wanna know, what’s making you blush?"</p><p>Coby bit his lip. "I...um...no."</p><p>"No what?"</p><p>"Just no." Coby rolled over onto his back.</p><p>Helmeppo smirked and picked Coby up, pulling him into a hug and watching as Coby gradually turned redder and redder. The blond grinned. "I knew it! I <em><b>knew</b></em> it!"</p><p>"No you didn’t!" Coby paused. "Wait. You knew what?"</p><p>Helmeppo hesitated. "Wellll...are we thinking the same thing?"</p><p>"I dunno. What’s the thing you’re thinking of?" Coby backtracked, looking everywhere except at Helmeppo.</p><p>Helmeppo cupped Coby's chin, tilting his head up. "What’re <em>you</em> thinking of?"</p><p>Coby's blush returned. "H-Hey! I asked first!"</p><p>"And yet, here we are. I’m not saying anything until you do."</p><p>"I...I just..." Coby closed his eyes. "I know I complained earlier, but I kinda liked it when you were the one doing my hair..."</p><p>"Coby."</p><p>"And I like the massaging."</p><p>"<b><em>Coby</em></b>. Come on. Just admit it."</p><p>"Admit what?"</p><p>Helmeppo gently pet Coby's head and neck. "Come here." He scooped Coby close.</p><p>"Helmeppo!" Coby buried his face against his friend's chest to hide his face.</p><p>"I rest my case. <em>God</em> you’re cute."</p><p><br/>Coby shoved Helmeppo away and buried himself under the blankets. He curled the blankets to his chest and buried his head into the pillow. Helmeppo chuckled and lay down next to him, running his fingers through silky pink hair. He lowered a hand to pet Coby's head and neck. Coby relaxed and closed his eyes. Helmeppo chuckled, wrapping his arms around Coby. <em>I was right. He's caught a case of the feelings. I need <b>him </b>to say it though</em>. Helmeppo watched as Coby gradually became more and more uncomfortable, blushing, squirming, shoulders tensing.</p><p><br/>"Coby. Coby. Coby."</p><p>"What?" Coby snapped.</p><p>"Come here." Helmeppo picked the boy up and hugged him.</p><p>"No wait! Put me down!" Coby yelped. Nevertheless, he buried his face against Helmeppo's chest again. "Okay fine..."</p><p>"Are you going to tell me what’s <em>actually</em> going on?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Come onnnn!"</p><p>"Shut up."</p><p>"Make me."</p><p>"I can’t," Coby grumped.</p><p>"Then I’ll just keep bugging you. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me!"</p><p>"You’re twenty! Quit acting like you’re twelve!"</p><p>"Seriously? <em>You're</em> the one who has a silly middle school crush!" Helmeppo countered.</p><p>"I do not!"</p><p>"Do too! It’s obvious!"</p><p>"I came here for work, not for love. I don’t have a stupid crush on you!"</p><p>"I never said it was me."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"I just said you have a crush. I never said you have a crush on <em>me</em>. You came to that conclusion all by yourself." Helmeppo grinned. <em>I win.</em></p><p>Coby pulled back and glared at him. "I hate you."</p><p>"No you don’t."</p><p>"You’re my best friend, but I hate you."</p><p>"No you don’t." Helmeppo reached forward and kissed Coby's cheek.</p><p>Coby stared at him, wide-eyed. "Hey! Dirty pool. Cheater!" He insisted.</p><p>"You never set any rules to play by, and therefore, I can’t have cheated."</p><p>"Damn it all, my first crush has to be an idiot."</p><p>"Whoa whoa whoa, hang on a sec. One, how am I your <em>first</em> crush? You’re sixteen! Seriously? Second of all, <em>I'm</em> not the idiot here."</p><p>"What the-" Coby scowled and repeatedly whacked him with the pillow.</p><p>Helmeppo laughed, but eventually stopped Coby from hitting him by tackling him to the bed on his back. "There. Now I've got you."</p><p>Coby raised a leg to knee him in the gut. No effect. "Okay okay, I give!"</p><p>"I know you like me, I like you too. So admit it. I know, but I want to hear <em>you</em> say it."</p><p>"Fiiiine." Coby reached up and pulled Helmeppo down on top of him, laying his forehead against the blond's. "I like you. Happy?"</p><p>Helmeppo nuzzled him, sliding his arms around the younger boy. "Yep."</p><p>"Helmeppo?"</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>Coby reached up to run his fingers through his own hair. "Can you do my hair next time too?"</p><p>Helmeppo kissed Coby's forehead, rolling to lay next to him and hug him tightly. "Whenever you want."</p><p>"Can I go to sleep now?"</p><p>"I can’t stop you."</p><p>"Massage?" Coby requested.</p><p>"Duh."</p><p>"And you have to stay with me."</p><p><br/>Helmeppo firmly massaged Coby's neck and shoulders, easing tense muscles while the boy closed his eyes and settled comfortably into the soft blankets. Helmeppo's lips curved up into the start of a smile. He leaned forward to press a kiss to Coby's nape, then settled next to him when the boy's breathing changed. Helmeppo slid his arms around Coby's slim waist and in his state of half-consciousness, Coby lowered his hands to rest over Helmeppo's only seconds before they settled into sleep. </p>
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<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Bad Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Coby had a bad day. A REALLY bad day.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The door slammed shut roughly as Coby stormed into the room. Coby flopped face-first on his bed with a groan, closing his eyes. He slowly breathed in, and out again, trying to stabilize his breath. Trying to get himself under control so he was decent enough to function like a normal, sane human again before Helmeppo would arrive after his shift. He wouldn’t get the chance.</p><p>The door opened again and Helmeppo stepped inside. He found Coby at once, curled up on his side on his bed, knees drawn up to his chest, shoulders tensed. Helmeppo frowned. Usually Coby at least turned to greet him, but for once, if Coby knew he was there, he gave no indication of it. The boy's shoulders shook, and that was when Helmeppo realized he was <em>crying</em>. Coby had always been the more emotional between the two of them, which was both a blessing and a curse, but it had been a long time since Helmeppo had seen him cry. </p><p><em>Shit...what happened?</em> Helmeppo settled on the bed next to Coby, reaching over and gently rubbing his friend's back, racking his brain furiously, trying desperately to find something, <em>anything</em> that he could do to help soothe his friend. He didn’t know what was wrong, and on one hand, it didn’t feel right to ask. On the other, he couldn’t help if he didn’t understand the situation. Coby stiffened at the touch, then relaxed, his tense muscles easing just a bit. The crying ebbed away into nothing and instead, for a long time, Coby just lay there in silence, curled up, enjoying the gentle back and shoulder rubs and trying to move past his overwhelming mess of emotions. Helmeppo's free hand slid forward to pull Coby's bandana and glasses off, setting them aside before reaching over to stroke back strands of Coby's bubblegum pink hair. Neither of them spoke for a long time, Coby trying to get his breathing under control and very much enjoying the attention, though he was acutely aware of the fact that he only really <em>got</em> attention when he was upset.</p><p>Helmeppo was content to sit there and run his fingers through Coby's hair and rub his friend's back. However, for once, Helmeppo couldn’t take the silence when he knew something was wrong and he didn't know what, so it was he who finally broke the silence, pulling back and pulling a blanket up over Coby's narrow shoulders.</p><p><br/>"Coby? What’s going on?"</p><p>"N-Nothing. Everything's fine." Coby's voice was weak, shaky.</p><p>"I know you’re lying and so do you. Come on."</p><p>"Nothing's wrong!"<br/><br/>Helmeppo raised an eyebrow. "I never said something was <em>wrong</em>, did I? You came up with that all on your own. Coby, <em>talk</em> to me."<br/><br/>Coby took a shaky breath and sat up on his knees, pulling the blanket closer around him. "Look, today's been absolute <em>crap</em>, okay?"<br/><br/>"How? Do you want to talk about it?"</p><p>"I-I started the day by waking up late and missing breakfast, then I screw up my latest assignment, and...and because of that, I was so distracted I couldn’t train <em>half</em> as well as I normally do. Garp even had words with me about it. I ended up in the infirmary today too for <em>this</em>." He pulled his collar to the side to reveal a gash in his shoulder. "From the failed assignment, not from Garp, I promise. A-And I’ve had trouble staying asleep through the night all week, so I’m dead-tired on top of it all. I’m..." he shook his head and released his collar again, arm falling limp at his side. "I’m so <em>done</em>, Helmeppo. I'm...I think I’m at my breaking point and I just... I just <em>can't</em>!"</p><p>"Come here." Helmeppo scooped Coby closer to him, pulling the boy against his chest. "It’s okay, it’s <em>not</em> the end of the world."<br/><br/>"I <em>failed</em>! I'm tired and I’m hungry and I’m hurt and I <em>failed</em>!" Coby curled up against Helmeppo's chest. "Then you have to walk in here and see me crying like this...dammit, I’m so weak..."</p><p>Helmeppo ghosted his fingers across the X-shaped scar on his friend's forehead, the skin rough and pale. "<em>Are</em> you? Don’t you think... crying makes someone stronger? You can’t get help if nobody knows your mind."<br/><br/>"<em>You</em> would never let yourself cry in front of anyone."<br/><br/>"That’s not true. I’ve done it before." Helmeppo hugged Coby closer to him. "That’s beside the point though. You’re not <em>weak</em> because you cried in front of someone. You’re having a crappy time and it needed to come out. Why didn’t you say something sooner?"</p><p>"I didn’t want you to worry about something stupid like me being tired all the time."</p><p>"Tell you what, we're going to share the bed tonight, and I’m going to hold you, okay? Maybe knowing someone's there will help you sleep better. Experiment."<br/><br/>"That’s weird though, isn’t it?" Coby asked. He raised his arm to wipe away his tears with the back of his hand, but they kept coming, silent tears rolling down his face. Exhaustion, pain, frustration.<br/><br/>"Why would it be weird?"</p><p>"I dunno, just..." Coby shrugged. His face tinted pink. "Nevermind."</p><p>"Just what? Now I’m curious."</p><p>Coby hid his face against Helmeppo's shirt. "Nothing, it’s just...it's nothing."</p><p>"Come on, Coby, tell me! It’s just what?"</p><p>"Look, my day's already been crappy enough, okay? I don’t...I don’t need to be pressured right now!"</p><p>"Okay okay, I’m sorry." Helmeppo rubbed Coby's back. "I’m really not trying to add more stress. C'mere." He wrapped Coby up into a blanket-burrito and gently lay him on the bed, fluffing up and adjusting his pillow to rest comfortably under his head and neck. "Comfy?"</p><p>Coby nodded. "Comfy." His gaze flicked up to Helmeppo. "But..." he opened the blanket and extended his arms to his friend. "Please?"</p><p>"Aw come <em>on</em>! I did all that work to burrito-wrap you!" Helmeppo complained.</p><p>"I know, I know. Sorry." Coby tugged Helmeppo down next to him and cuddled close, wrapping the blanket around both of them, rolling them both up. "We can be a double-burrito though." He nestled his head against his friend's chest. "You’re comfortable."</p><p>"Will you sleep better like this?" Helmeppo asked softly.</p><p>"I..." Coby smiled softly and closed his eyes. "I think so. This is just what I need after a crappy day."</p><p>Helmeppo chuckled. "Well I’m glad to provide. Now c'mon bud. Get some sleep."<br/><br/>"Okay okay. You too. G'night."</p><p><br/>Coby breathed out, his breath tickling Helmeppo's throat lightly, warm and pleasant. Helmeppo pulled Coby as close as he could, tightening their little blanket-burrito around them. Then, when Coby's breathing pattern subtly shifted and every muscle had relaxed as the boy drifted off, Helmeppo leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Coby's forehead before settling his head over Coby's, protective, secure, offering warmth and comfort. If Coby woke during the night, Helmeppo would wake as well and stay up with him as long as he needed. <em>No matter what happens...I promised I’d stand by you and I meant it. I’m right here</em>. Helmeppo silently promised. He closed his eyes and let himself relax too. <em>It feels good that you still need me sometimes and not always the other way around. Whenever you need me, I'll always take care of you.</em></p>
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<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Audio Recording</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Helmeppo is too chicken to admit he likes his friend. To his face, at least.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Last one for tonight's upload! More coming soon!</p><p>Just a short 10 minute drabble. Sorry it’s not as high quality as some of my stuff!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Here." Helmeppo slid his coat over Coby's shoulders. "You’re cold."</p><p>Coby sank into the oversized jacket, but it was heavy and warm. "Yeah...thanks."</p><p>Helmeppo ruffled his companion's hair. "Let’s get you home, okay? It’s getting late."</p><p>"Walk with me?"</p><p>"Of course."</p><p><br/>
They didn’t talk much as they walked down the street that led to Coby's tiny house. That was fine, it was a comfortable silence. Helmeppo tensed when Coby's hand fell to his side and brushed against Helmeppo's own, just for a moment. To his surprise, disappointment flickered through him when Coby's hand fell away. Without thinking, he turned his hand to catch Coby's, sliding his fingers through Coby's. If Coby noticed, he didn’t say. However, he did smile just the slightest bit, nearly invisible. All too soon, they were back at Coby's house. He slid off the coat and tried to hand it back, but Helmeppo just wrapped it back around Coby and nudged him towards the door. He wanted to kiss Coby's forehead or cheek, but... he couldn’t.</p><p><br/>
"Keep it. See you tomorrow?"</p><p>Coby smiled softly. "Yeah. See you."</p><p><br/>
Inside, he sat down on the couch, but found himself sitting on something hard. He frowned, shifting to pull the ends of the coat out from under him. He reached into the pocket and found Helmeppo had accidentally left his phone. Coby bit his lip. For a moment he debated running after him to give it back, but Helmeppo would be long gone by now. Coby set the phone on the table next to him, accidentally pressing a button in the process. The phone unlocked. Coby frowned. <em>He keeps shitty security on his phone</em>. Coby shrugged. Before he could do anything though, some kind of voice recording started playing.</p><p><br/>
<b>
    <em>Hey Coby. If you’re hearing this... well, then I guess I’m just a coward, aren’t I? Heh. Well, I hope you find this message. I left the phone in my pocket intentionally in hopes you’d find the recording. Anyway. I...uh...okay, so the thing is...I like you. A lot. Like more than I probably should. Like I think I might be falling in love with you. Try not to freak about things on me, okay? I’m worried enough about how you’ll react as it is. I’m going to try and tell you tomorrow in person anyway, but... just in case I chicken out again. I’ve already tried and failed three times. Hopefully there won’t be a fourth. Well that’s it. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.</em>
  </b>
</p><p><br/>
The recording shut off. Coby sat there in stunned silence for a while. He replayed it twice, trying to wrap his head around that concept... and smiling like the lovestruck fool he was. He tried never to express it around Helmeppo in person, but... maybe he could now.<br/>
__________</p><p><br/>
Coby handed the coat back to Helmeppo and slid the phone into his hand. Then he reached up to gently kiss Helmeppo's cheek. "I got your message," he told him with a small smile.</p><p>Helmeppo's face burned from the kiss. "Well? Didn’t give me much of a chance to say anything before charging right in, huh? I’m sorry, Coby. I really am. I didn’t...I didn’t want to be a coward. I couldn't bring myself to say it to your face though."</p><p>Coby shrugged. "In all honesty... I think it’s kind of sweet you did that for me. Wrapped me up nice and warm, sent me home to relax on the couch with a message telling me you’re falling in love with me? It was a nice way to spend the evening."</p><p>"What’re your thoughts? You’re not going to freak?"</p><p>"Why would I freak when I feel the same? You were just braver than me."</p><p>Helmeppo blanked out for a moment. "You...?"</p><p>"I like you too. I’m glad <em>one</em> of us had the guts to say it, so... thanks for coming forward about it."</p><p>"I don’t know what I was expecting, but...but it was not <em>this</em>."</p><p>"Come on, I think...we might have some things to talk about. Let’s go find that cafe you like and get coffee, eh?"</p><p><br/>
Helmeppo kissed Coby's forehead. He laced his fingers with Coby's and the two headed off down the street, Coby chattering excitedly, and Helmeppo smiling fondly down at his friend.</p>
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